The first Test between Sri Lanka and the touring Bangladesh team ended in a high-scoring draw at the Pallekele Stadium in Kandy yesterday.
The match was also part of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Test Championship.
Sri Lanka declared their first innings at a massive 648 for eight and while Bangladesh did lose two early wickets, Tamim Iqbal's half-century took the visitors to 100 for two before ran put an early end to the proceedings.
First innings centurion Najmul Hossain Shanto - bagged a duck as Bangladesh soon found themselves reeling at 27 for two in their second innings at one stage.
Tamim, however, eased the nerves and scored a brisk half-century. He collaborated with Mominul Haque to prevent any further damage in the session.
Earlier, Dimuth Karunaratne resumed on 234 but failed to get to the 250-run mark while Dhananjaya de Silva fell seven short of his highest Test score and was dismissed for 166.
Skipper Karunaratne was named Player-of-the-Match and expressed his satisfaction of returning to form following a disappointing series in the Caribbean.
"I had a very hard time in the West Indies. First few overs I was struggling but I thought if I get a start and hang around, I can get a big one,” he stressed.
“We thought the wicket would have good pace and bounce but in these conditions, with the heat, it was a bit flat.”
“The bowlers tried their heart out but Bangladesh batted very well, showed good patience, and when we batted as well, nothing much for the bowlers, pretty much a batting paradise.”
“Even if we had another chance [on this pitch], I don't think we could have done anything differently [with the ball]. We need a 50-50 wicket [for the second Test], we need something for the bowlers as well,” he added.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh Captain Mominul Haque said that it was a good team performance that helped them to come out with a draw.
"I think it was a team performance, everyone contributed, especially Shanto. We were set up really well by Tamim Iqbal and later on Liton and Mushy did really well,” he explained.
“The bowlers tried really hard, especially Taskin, Miraz and Taijul. It depends on your mentality [dealing with bubbles]. When you represent your country, you have to adjust it's totally a mental thing. I'm happy as a captain to contribute for the team."
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