CHITTAGONG (Bangladesh), Jan 3: Tillekeratne Dilshan slammed an aggressive century to lead Sri Lanka to a commanding 371 for six on the opening day of the second and final Test against Bangladesh on Saturday.

Sri Lanka were struggling at 75 for four when Dilshan came to the crease and he was eventually last man out, bowled by left-arm spinner Enamul Haque Jr for a rapid 162 off 165 balls.

The right-hander raced to his half-century in only 37 deliveries and completed his sixth Test century off 93 balls.

Chamara Kapugedera (93 not out), who was dropped on 37 by mid-on Imrul Kayes off paceman Mashrafe Mortaza, shared a sixth-wicket stand of 173 with Dilshan.

“It was an opportunity for someone to put his hand up and I am happy to have contributed,” Dilshan told reporters. “It is a good Test wicket but maybe a bit on the slow side.”

Malinda Warnapura also chipped in with 63, his fourth Test half-century. Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful trapped Warnapura lbw with his first ball to end the opener’s 119-run fifth-wicket partnership with Dilshan who struck two sixes and 21 fours.

The home team were on top early on after Mashrafe struck twice in his first two overs, dismissing Prasanna Jayawardene for a first-ball duck and Kumar Sangakkara for five, and Shakib Al Hasan removed Mahela Jayawardene in his 100th Test.

Skipper Jayawardene, the fourth Sri Lankan to reach the milestone, was caught by wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim for 11.

Sri Lanka, however, then plundered 164 runs in the afternoon session and another 142 after tea.

Kapugedera looked set for his maiden Test century, having already hit 12 fours and a six from 117 balls.

But it was Dilshan who punished the error-prone home bowlers the most, lofting paceman Shahadat Hossain for a six and then three fours in an over.

The visitors made three changes to the team that won the first Test in Dhaka by 107 runs with Kapugedera, Ajantha Mendis and Dilhara Fernando replacing Michael Vandort, Rangana Herath and Dammika Prasad.

Bangladesh brought in Enamul for paceman Mahbubul Alam.

Scoreboard

SRI LANKA (1st Innings):

B.S.M. Warnapura lbw b Ashraful 63

P. Jayawardene lbw b Mashrafe 0

K.C. Sangakkara b Mashrafe 5

M. Jayawardene c Mushfiqur b Shakib 11

T.T. Samaraweera b Shahadat 19

T.M. Dilshan b Enamul 162

C.K. Kapugedera not out 93

W.P.U.J.C. Vaas not out 1

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-6, W-1, NB-6) 17

TOTAL (for six wkts, 90 overs) 371

FALL OF WKTS: 1-1, 2-7, 3-39, 4-75, 5-194, 6-367.

TO BAT: M. Muralitharan, C.R.D. Fernando, B.A.W. Mendis.

BOWLING (to-date): Mashrafe Mortaza 20-7-48-2 (2nb); Shahadat Hossain 14-0-80-1 (1w); Shakib Al Hasan 28-5-108-1 (1nb); Enamul Haque Jr 19-3-70-1 (3nb); Mehrab Hossain Jr 7-1-36-0; Mohammad Ashraful 2-0-19-1.

BANGLADESH: Tamim Iqbal, Imrul Kayes, Junaid Siddique, Mohammad Ashraful, Raqibul Hasan, Mehrab Hossain Jr, Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mashrafe Mortaza, Shahadat Hossain, Enamul Haque Jr.

UMPIRES: S.A. Bucknor (West Indies) and N.J. Llong (England).

TV UMPIRE: Nadir Shah (Bangladesh).

MATCH REFEREE: J.J. Crowe (New Zealand).—Agencies