Sri Lanka v. Bangladesh - 2nd. Test.

[Donny]

Colombo hosts the second Tests between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It started on time. Mahela Jayawardene again won the toss and elected to field first. Lasith Malinga struck early, with the wicket of Shahriar Nafees for a duck. After 5 overs, it's 1/7.

[Donny]

Malinga has ripped out the top order. Shahriar Nafees for a duck, Javed Omar (8), Habibul Bashar (5) and the Banglas skipper, Mohammad Ashraful, also for a duck. He has 4/17. Bangladesh 4/29.

[Donny]

5/34 as Dilhara Fernando joins the party with the wicket of Mehrab Hossain jnr (6), playing in his first Test.

[SightForTheGods]

I was watching this till Ashraful got out...Bangladesh is not in form (at least for test). They will probably be done before the lunch itself.

[Donny]

9/59 !! :sad_smile: Murali into the attack. Like taking candy from a baby. 3/14 from 5 overs. Fernando has 2/16 from 6.

[King]

62/9 after 25 overs. I just looked up the score and Bangladesh is already 9 down within the first session. How can anyone justify Bangladesh playing test cricket I cannot understand.

[zubinpepsi]

man, i think we played very poorly against them letting them score above 200.. SL is doing eaxactly what shastri meant by no mercy..

[CC1981]

man, i think we played very poorly against them letting them score above 200.. SL is doing eaxactly what shastri meant by no mercy..

Sri Lankan bowling is a LOT better than Indian bowling ! Murali >> Kumble, Vaas >>>>>>>> any other Indian pacer, Malinga >>>> practically every other Indian pacer. Please do remember that Sri Lanka has been mostly a handful for everyone to bat against in Asia - except ofcourse, India because Indian batsmen are so much more proficient at spin than any other team. For eg, since 95, in ODIs, where teams dont just face each other in their own den (or the other guy's yard) and in all of Asia, SL has a 5-7 record vs the Aussies, 5-0 vs England, 25-22 vs India, 11-4 vs NZ, 28-24 vs Pak, 8-4 vs South Africa and 8-4 record vs West Indies. Ie, a winning record vs everyone but Australia in subcontinent. They are a formidable team in the subcontinent- so lets give them the credit they deserve.

[Donny]

All out 62. Murali 4/14. SL 0/13 after 3 overs.

[King]

I wonder how Bangladesh even is going to be motivated to step on the field particularly knowing the result in the last test. I mean they are shot out in less than a session :confused_smile: Getting bowled out in under 25 overs is absolutely ridiculous. If I'm out without batting about 10 overs when I open the inning I would consider it as a failure personally. Imagine an entire team folding up in less than 2 hours in a test match that is supposed to go on for 5 days. What will be the bowlers' mindset now? I think they are playing this test just for the sake of it now. They will already know they are done and dusted.

[CC1981]

Lets keep it in perspective for those questioning Bangladesh's status- India got shot out in a session or worse by England or Australia several times in their early days and the Kiwis were always everyone's favourite punching-bags till the mid 70s... Overall, Bangladesh is doing poorly but they are still less than 10 years into test -status and unlike zimbabwe or sri lanka, they didnt have the luxury of having a few veterans play in the county leagues right off the bat after getting test-hood. They've shown that they belong in this arena.. they just need to get a bit more consistent. We shouldnt forget the fact that this is a very young team too - 8 of the playing 11 in the current test are less than 24 years old ! They should be given 10-15 years test-run with good FC touring schedules before their status is even examined!

[King]

I don't see a little improvement in Bangladesh's test side. Just let them play the ODIs for now. The rest of the countries you mentioned did not used to get bowled in less than a session so frequently. The likes of Kiwis, Sri Lanka and the rest were not being shot out for double digits every other game even on flattest of pitches. I think you will get a better idea if you look up the scores of Sri Lanka and NZ since the first test. Worse NZ used to play on uncovered pitches. These pitches are covered and are flat. On a pitch like this Bangladesh isn't able to play a session for heaven's sake. Secondly their bowling cannot get a team shot out once let alone twice. The likes of Gillespie scored double hundred, Vaas got his first hundred the last test match and I cannot see if any other test team including Zimboks had been thrashed this consistently and this often. Bangladesh should stick to ODIs for few years. The only test match they should play is about 5-10 in a year when the big boys have some time. Any test playing nation shouldn't play more than a test match in a series against Bangladesh IMO. I used to think they will improve but no way they can in the next decade or so. I remember some of the Bangla supporters making a hue and cry about India not touring them often. Now am sure they will know why they are not favorites to tour.

[Donny]

The 62 total was the lowest by Bangladesh in Tests. I remember SL being easybeats for many years before they became competitive. It's a somewhat painful process. SL is 0/35.

[CC1981]

The rest of the countries you mentioned did not used to get bowled in less than a session so frequently.

hardly a fair benchmark...tests these days (when not weather-affected) have a result lot more often than back in the day....its a fact that draws have gone down dramtically...in other words, a lot of the 'kiwis hanging on for draws' would've been total losses back in the day too if the game was played at this quick pace and 450 overs garanteed (Wether-permitting). Weather-planning has improved significantly too...India doesnt show up in the caribbean during the monsoon season like they sometimes did in the 50s & 60s.. I dont think revoking their test status is going to help them because they wont improve if they dont play test nations...however small or slow the improvement is, i dont think you can deny that bangladesh is a better team today than 5 years ago - even if its marginally slow. What i think would be far better is to get them involved in the FC matches...nobody plays Bangladesh in 4-5 test series and they hardly ever get even a 3 test series...they dont play more than 2-3 test series a year either...so get they got ample time- get them to do the old style 'when you tour, you play tests + 4-5 FC matches against FC teams' stuff that every team did in the 70s/80s era...

[King]

I dont think revoking their test status is going to help them because they wont improve if they dont play test nations...however small or slow the improvement is, i dont think you can deny that bangladesh is a better team today than 5 years ago - even if its marginally slow. What i think would be far better is to get them involved in the FC matches...nobody plays Bangladesh in 4-5 test series and they hardly ever get even a 3 test series...they dont play more than 2-3 test series a year either...so get they got ample time- get them to do the old style 'when you tour, you play tests + 4-5 FC matches against FC teams' stuff that every team did in the 70s/80s era...

Revoking their test status is ain't going to happen. I agree they should be slotted to play few English county sides during Bangladesh's off season or play few games against the Aussie domestic teams to get some confidence going. Unfortunately this isn't going to happen considering the useless ICC. They have had to toss a coin to decide the ICC chief post few days ago, go figure :whatchutalkingabout ICC has drawn this 10 year plan and that will not allow Bangladesh to play domestic sides often enough. Even Bangladesh are playing a lot of cricket these days and where is the time for some retrospection or play FC games?

[chanakya]

Bangladesh needs to learn how to play a test. These guys play test like its street cricket. They need to play it a lot more in their domestic level if they are to make any progress in the test arena.

[Donny]

SL 1/65. Mortaza claimed Vandort for 14. Warnapura 36* Sangakkara 9*

[Prudent]

Poor BanGolis :haha:

[Donny]

1/100. Warnapura 57* Sangakkara 22*

[King Tendulkar]

Bangla are awful. In test terms they are getting worse!