Ban vs SL – 2nd Test – Kamindu Mendis expected spin to play big role from day three

“The pitch is quite good for the batters compared to the last game,” Kamindu said. “But I think it’s going to be more beneficial for the spinners going forward. I think I’ll bat on a good day in that sense. Some balls turned today, but I think the spinners will play a big role tomorrow. At the same time we’ve got three good fast bowlers – they’ve already got one wicket. have got – so if we get two-three wickets in the morning we are on top.

“We’re still thinking about winning the game,” Hemp said. “It may seem a bit strange considering we are (476) runs behind. The key is to negotiate tomorrow. If we do well, then we will negotiate the next day. If we do that, from a batting point of view, you never know what will happen first, we will bat well for three sessions tomorrow. We must make sure that we do.

Bangladesh can take a leaf from Sri Lanka’s approach. The visitors put together five 50-plus stands, two of which crossed the century mark. Kamindu added 65 runs for the seventh wicket with Prabhat Jayasuriya and then batted an additional 17.1 overs with the last three batters Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumar and Asita Fernando.

Kamindu has batted admirably with Tale through this Test series. After a seventh-wicket partnership of 173 with Dhananjaya de Silva in the second innings in Sylhet, Mendis batted for another 26.2 overs with the last three batters.

“When you’re batting at 7 or 8, you have to trust the tail-enders,” Kamindu said. “I think I did that. They did a good job of supporting me. Our top-order batsmen did really well in this innings. We had some half-centuries. They contributed well to the team.

“I think anybody can score a big century in cricket, somebody can’t. We had six fifties in our first innings. It’s still a great contribution for the team. We put up 500 plus. I think we have fulfilled our plan on the board.

Dinesh Chandimal and skipper de Silva also hit fifties as Sri Lanka looked out of trouble on the second day. Bangladesh dropped four catches, taking their total to seven across Sri Lanka’s innings.

Catching reached its pulse when Jayasuriya edged Khaled Ahmed to Nazmul Hossain Shanto at first slip. The ball burst from his hands, reached Shahdat Hossain at second slip, who parried it to Zakir Hossain at third slip, who eventually dropped the chance. Khalid was fuming as he kicked the turf twice.

“I thought (Shahadat) Deepu had a good chance to get that (catch),” Hemp said. “Both of those fielders field at short leg so their reactions are very good. I thought one of them would be able to get it when it came out. But unfortunately not. We don’t see that very often.

“Being a slip fielder is a tough job. There’s a lot of expectation and anticipation involved. You have to expect the ball to come to you every delivery. If you don’t have that mindset, it makes life a bit difficult. The more you practice, the better chance you give yourself when it comes to game situations.”

Bangladesh will trust the pair, who have shown signs of improvement, Hemp said. “We didn’t communicate well enough (with the Sri Lankan bowlers) last week (in Sylhet). I think it’s a big step forward. We practiced it in the three days (before this Test). Happy’s dismissal was disappointing. At the end of the day it’s nice not to have anyone down, he’s a young partner, so I was pleased with the way they applied themselves.