Mominul and Liton whittle down Bangladesh deficit

It was neither stonewall nor counterattack: just sensible and proficient Test match batting. Sri Lanka's hopes of an Independence-day victory have not completely been extinguished, but the unbeaten 106-run fourth-wicket stand between Mominul Haque and Liton Das has certainly made them more remote.

Bangladesh sit only 13 runs in arrears now, with seven wickets still in hand following a wicketless session. Sixty-two overs are left in the game. If the pitch showed its first signs of life last evening, it appears to have reclaimed some of its somnolence overnight. Sri Lanka's spinners were not quite as consistent as they would like to have been, but nor were they able to consistently glean sharp turn from the surface.

It was Mominul who led Bangladesh in the first innings, and Mominul again who is doing most to lift his side out of danger in the second. He had had some nervy moments in the very early overs of the day, when the occasional ball turned and the straighter ball consequently became dangerous.

But in the fifth over of the morning, he hit a handsome straight six off Rangana Herath, and has more or less been at ease at the crease since - the only exception being when he ducked into a Lahiru Kumara short ball midway through the session and required brief medical attention.

This innings, being a rearguard of sorts, was not so boundary-laden as his effort on day one, but he rotated the strike efficiently nonetheless. His half-century came off only 78 deliveries. If Bangladesh do go on to avoid defeat, it will be Mominul's second match-saving innings in Chittagong against Sri Lanka, after he had scored a fifth-day hundred in the 2014 Test.

Liton, his partner, moved to 47 not out off 89 balls by lunch, and had largely batted in the same vein. Having survived early jitters against Herath, he settled himself with a hard, flat sweep to the boundary, and began to advance largely via singles.

Both batsmen trusted the surface - they were a little wary of balls pitching in the rough, but they pushed out their front legs confidently when the bowlers pitched on the straight. Even Lakshan Sandakan, the wristspinner, was not getting much more turn than he had achieved on days one and two. Bangladesh will begin the afternoon session hoping for more of the same from this track.

Source: ESPNcricinfo