Magician Murali puts Bangladesh in spin

DHAKA, Dec 27: Spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan put Sri Lanka in a commanding position with a five-wicket haul in the opening Test against Bangladesh here on Saturday.

The off-spinner grabbed 5-48 – his 66th haul of five or more wickets in a Test innings – as Bangladesh crashed to 177-9 in their first innings at stumps on the second day in reply to Sri Lanka’s 293.

Opener Imrul Kayes top-scored with 33 in an inconsistent Bangladeshi batting performance. Junaid Siddique (29), Mehrab Hossain Jr (29) and Shakib Al Hasan (26) also got starts, but failed to convert them into big knocks.

Muralitharan was superbly backed by left-arm seamer Chaminda Vaas, who took two wickets in his four overs to finish with 2-33. Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath and Dammika Prasad each bagged one wicket.

Sri Lanka were bowled out on the stroke of lunch after resuming at 172-6, with middle-order batsman Thilan Samaraweera scoring a solid 90.

Muralitharan struck with his second delivery when he had Tamim Iqbal (17) caught by a diving Malinda Warnapura at short-leg and then bowled Siddique in the last over before the tea-break.

He was on a hat-trick in the final session when he had Shakib Al Hasan caught by skipper Mahela Jayawardene at first slip and then trapped Mashrafe Mortaza leg-before for no score.

Vaas struck twice in the afternoon session when he had Kayes caught behind and then bagged his 350th Test wicket when he had skipper Mohammad Ashraful caught by Tillekeratne Dilshan in the covers.

The morning session belonged to Samaraweera, who looked set to complete his eighth Test hundred before being the last man out. He was caught by Junaid at first slip off left-arm spinner Shakib after hitting 13 fours.

Shakib claimed two of the four wickets that fell in the morning to finish with an impressive 5-70, his third successive haul of five or more wickets in a Test innings.

Sri Lanka denied the hosts success for nearly two hours in the morning session, with Samaraweera and lower-order batsman Vaas adding 99 for the seventh wicket.

Mashrafe broke their stand with the second new ball when he had Vaas caught behind for 37 – a tally that included six fours.

The tourists’ innings did not last long after Vaas’s dismissal as they lost their last three wickets for just eight runs.

The second and final Test starts in Chittagong on Jan 3.

Scoreboard

SRI LANKA (1st Innings, overnight 172-6):

M.G. Vandort c Shakib b Shahadat 44

B.S.M. Warnapura lbw b Mashrafe 14

K.C. Sangakkara c Ashraful b Shakib 43

D.P.M.D. Jayawardene b Shakib 3

T.T. Samaraweera c Junaid b Shakib 90

T.M. Dilshan b Shakib 14

P. Jayawardene c Tamim b Shahadat 6

W.P.U.J.C. Vaas c Mushfiqur b Mashrafe 37

K.T.G.D. Prasad lbw b Shakib 3

H.M.R.K.B. Herath run out 1

M. Muralitharan not out 0

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-13, W-12, NB-9) 38

TOTAL (all out, 89/4 overs) 293

FALL OF WKTS: 1-24, 2-119, 3-121, 4-135, 5-155, 6-171, 7-270, 8-285, 9-291.

BOWLING: Mashrafe Mortaza 18-2-67-2 (7nb, 10w); Mahbubul Alam 19-4-56-0 (1w); Shahadat Hossain 16-2-55-2 (1nb, 1w); Shakib Al Hasan 28.4-4-70-5; Mehrab Hossain Jr 6-1-22-0; Mohammad Ashraful 2-0-6-0.

BANGLADESH (1st Innings):

Tamim Iqbal c Warnapura b Murali 17

Imrul Kayes c P. J’dene b Vaas 33

Junaid Siddique b Murali 29

Mohammad Ashraful c Dilshan b Vaas 12

Raqibul Hasan b Prasad 11

Mehrab Hossain Jr c M. J’dene b Herath 29

Shakib Al Hasan c M. J’dene b Murali 26

Mushfiqur Rahim not out 11

Mashrafe Mortaza lbw b Murali 0

Shahadat Hossain st P. J’dene b Murali 5

Mahbubul Alam not out 0