"You can only write an obituary on this scorecard but not a report," reacted a veteran journalist furiously at the P Sara press box after Bangladesh were dismissed for their lowest Test total of 62 on the first day of the second Test here yesterday.
One could not have said more when a scoreboard shows the numbers8,0,21,5,0,6,9,0,2,4,1.
It was painful to see a Test's fate all but decided in the very first session of the game. Facilities at the P Sara press box were horrible but it was more pathetic experience for the journalists to watch Bangladesh's batting.
The local media has already come down heavily after the first Test performance when one of the leading local newspapers branded Bangladesh's efforts in the first game as 'kid's stuff and yesterday's show just added more fuel to the non-ending criticism.
But Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful was not ready to consider it as the saddest day in
his career.
"As a captain, it's a painful day for me as we scored our lowest total but I am not ready to say it is the saddest day in my career because I was dismissed twice in a day for ducks against New Zealand in 2004 at Chittagong,"said Ashraful.
“You see we didn't bat like one-day cricket. I think none of our batsmen threw their wickets in this innings. The reality is we could not survive against such a quality attack.
"I don't want to give any excuses but what I want to say is that we need more time to cope with world class attacks. I think you can compare this bowling with the Australian attack comprising of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne," he said adding that he was also unlucky to be dismissed without scoring.
Many were surprised by the dismissal of the 22-year old batter who flicked Lasith Malinga in his third ball despite Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene had brought Malinda Warnapura at forward short-leg.
Interestingly, Malinga also echoed with the Bangladesh skipper's sentiments.
"I don't think it was because of Bangladesh's poor batting. I must say we bowled brilliantly in the morning. Our attack is now the best in the world and it's not easy for any team to handle us. Our bowling is definitely better than Australia right at the moment," said the confident pacer, who made the initial damage by taking four wickets including the scalps of Ashraful and former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar in a single over.
Bangladesh vice-captain Mashrafe Bin Mortaza who came to face the heat in the official press conference also defended his captain's views.
"I think Sri Lankan bowling is too good for us. Nobody was dismissed by playing a bad shot. I think we have the ability to survive against this kind of attack but we need some favourof luck. I think there a number of reasons behind the failure," said the Narail Express.
"If we had been all out for 150 odd runs, it would have been a painful experience for me. So, just think how I feel after being dismissed this cheap,” said a frustrated Mashrafe, who gave the only breakthrough for his side. It was not possible to get reactions from assistant coach Sarwar Imran after the miserable batting performance as it was learnt that the authority reprimanded him following his harsh remarks after the first Test.
However, former Indian batsman turned commentator Sanjay Manjrekar believes that the authority should concentrate more on what he (Imran) actually said.
"Yes, I have read his comments. Many might have raised the flags against him but he told of what he felt. It would be wise to focus on his observations," said the former Test batsman while he was talking at the press box.
SCOREBOARD
Scoreboard at stumps on the opening day of the second Test between
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the P Sara Stadium in Colombo on Tuesday:
BANGLADESH: First innings
Omar c P Jayawardene b Malinga8
NafeesibwbMalinga 0
Saleh c M Jayawardene bMuralidaran 21
Basharc M Jayawardene b
Malinga 5
AshrafuIcWarnapurabMalinga 0
Hossain b Fernando 6
Rahim c P Jayawardene bMuralidaran 9
Mashrafe c M Jayawardene
b Fernando 0
RafiquecVaas bMuralidaran 2
Sharif not out 4
Shahadat bMuralidaran 1
Extras: (lb-1,nb-4,w-1) 6
Total: (All out in 25.2 overs) 62
Fall of wickets: 1 -3,2-14, 3-22,4-22, 5-33,6-45,7-48,8-51,9-56
Bowler OMR W
Vaas 5 16 0
Malinga 9 1 25 4
Fernando 6 1 16 2
Muralidaran 5.2 1 14 4
SRI LANKA: First innings
Vandort b Mashrafe 14
Warnapura notout 79
Sangakkara not out 51
Extras: (lb-3, nb-7) 10
Total: (For 1 wkt in 45.3 overs) 154
Fallofwicket: 1-41
To bat: M Jayawardene, Silva,
Dilshan, P Jayawardene, Vaas,
Muralidaran, Malinga, Fernando
Bowler O M R W
Mashrafe 12 1 31 1
Shahadat 9 1 34 0
Sharif 7.3 1 26 0
Rafique 14 1 48 0
Ashraful 3 0 12 0
Toss: Sri Lanka.
Umpires: Asad Rauf and Rudi
Koertzen.