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2nd Test

Mashrafe goes to the rescue

BlSHWAJTT Roy in Chittagong
Mashrafe Bin Mortaza stood up with the bat to salvage Bangladesh's pride as the home team avoided follow-on against Sri Lanka on the second day of the second and final Test at the Chittagong Divisional Stadium yesterday.
The Bangladesh vicecaptain took charge to smash his third half-century when
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Bangladesh’s chance to save the follow-on seemed all but over with the departure of the last recognised batsman Mushfiqur Rahim as the scoreboard read 136 for eight, still 49 runs required to spare the blushes.
The crisis deepened when Enamul Haque was dismissed leaving to score 40 more runs for the last wicket against a deadly bowling attack, but Shahadat Hossain provided the perfect support to overcome the hurdle on a pitch where 14 wickets fell on the second day.
The pair shared 63 runs as Bangladesh were bundled out for 208 to make sure the visitors bat a few overs but still Sri Lanka tightened their grip on the Tigers as they extended their lead to 189 with all their second innings wickets intact.
Mashrafe reminded everybody of his rescue act against India at the same venue last year where his 79 helped his side save
the follow-on and the braveheart cricketer once again showed his character when his team was in big trouble.
The right-hander initially rotated the strike with his partner to frustrate the Lankans who used all the bowlers to break the partnership to bring back the Tigers to bat again in the tricky surface. Mashrafe charged the champion bowlers once he settled down in the middle.
During his 89-ball 63 the tall right-hander smashed mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis over the long-off fence and hit another six against top off-spinner Muttiah Muralidaran over the midwicket region and his innings also saw eight boundaries before he was caught at deep square-leg while going for another big one against Muralidaran.
Bangladesh however made a brilliant start in the morning as they wrapped up the Sri Lankan innings within twenty minutes as Shakib Al Hasan captured three and Mashrafe grabbed the
remaining to see the visitors being all out for384 after resuming the day on 371 for 6.
The home team s early joy however was spoiled by yet another poor batting and it was Chaminda Vass who made the initial damage by removing openers for 26 runs on the board to open the gate for two deadly spinners -- Muralidaran (3-62) and Mendis (3-62).
It could have been a day for Mohammad Ashraful had he not lost his head in a very crucial stage of the match.
The Bangladesh captain, who came in the match after a hundred in the first Test, negotiated all the bowlers brilliantly but suddenly changed his game to complete his fifty quickly as his unsuccessful reverse sweep ended his innings prematurely.
The right-hander made 45 off 100 balls that featured five fours and a six before being caught by wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene off Muralidaran.