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SL on the brink of series win

Mazhar Uddin
It was like watching a repeat telecast of the first day as a total of 14 wickets fell yet again on the second day of the second Test. Once again Bangladesh made costly errors and handed Sri Lanka the initiative, with the visitors taking a commanding second-innings lead of 312 runs with two wickets in hand at stumps at the Sher-e-Bangla National stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
The home side did not learn from their mistakes -whether it be a lack of patience from the batsmen, their error in reading the nature of the home turf, which has been a spinner's paradise, or their below-standard catching - and have dug themselves into a hole that will be extremely difficult to escape.
If the result of this Test is to go in the Tigers' favour then they have to successfully chase more than 300 runs in the fourth innings -- 215 against West Indies in 2009 being their highest - for the first time. That too after coming into their second essay after being bundled out for their lowest first-innings total, 110 runs, at the venue.
Mustafizur Rahman's brilliant bowling in the last hour of the day was perhaps the only bright spot for the hosts. The left-arm pacer picked up wickets in consecutive deliveries to dismiss Dilruwan Perera and Akila Dananjaya and it could have been even sweeter had Sabbir Rahman -who had dropped Perera on the first day - not let go of a straightforward catch at first slip, this time off Suranga Lakmal, to deny Mustafizur a third scalp in the over.
However, it was the intent and ability to adjust mentally from the Sri Lankan batsmen that was the main difference between the two sides on a pitch where the turn and movement had been difficult to negotiate throughout the day.
Roshen Silva showed the Bangladesh batters how to deal with such situations by putting away his ego, keeping his head down and working hard to register a second fifty in the match.
It was not about experience for Roshen, who is only playing his third Test, but rather his mental strength that put him ahead of all the batsmen in testing conditions. He remained unbeaten on a 94-ball 58 and took Sri Lanka to a commanding 200 for eight at the end of the day's play.
The right hander was watchful throughout his fighting knock, keeping his cool and concentrating on each and every delivery; be it leaving a turner away from the stumps or looking for runs when they were on offer.
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne's 32 off 105 balls and skipper Dinesh Chandimal's cautious 54-ball 30 were the other notable performances from the visitors. Mehedi Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam took two each for the hosts while Abdur Razzak picked up a solitary wicket.
Earlier, after resuming the day on 56 for four, overnight batsman Liton Das (25), who showed glimpses of offering resistance on the first day, was the first to be dismissed. The right-hander went for a drive without moving his feet and the ball took the inside edge and hit timber to give Lakmal his third wicket.
Stand-in skipper Mahmudullah Riyad then looked to repair the damage alongside Mehedi and the duo added 34 runs for the sixth wicket before the former too paid the price for playing away from his body. He left that well-known gap between bat and pad as he went against the spin for a drive through the off-side and was bowled for 17 by Akila Dananjaya, the debutant who ran through the Tigers' lower-middle order.
That gave Sabbir Rahman the opportunity to justify his return to the team, but the right-hander's arrogance was reflected by his batting. He went for a cover drive off Dananjaya's off-spin on the third delivery that he faced and handed a catch to short midwicket without troubling the score.
And since then scenes of horror unfolded at the home of Bangladesh cricket in Mirpur as the Tigers lost their last five wickets for just three runs to hand Sri Lanka a healthy first-innings lead of 112 as they were bundled out before lunch. Mehedi was the only Bangladesh batsman who stayed laser-focused throughout, remaining unbeaten on a 78-ball 38 with two fours and a six.