Match Preview – BAN vs SL 2nd Test, BAN v SL

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Big picture – Chattogram is not like Sylhet

For the second consecutive Test series between these teams, Sri Lanka’s seamers are defining the contest. In 2022, it was Asita Fernando And Kasun Rajitha took 24 wickets in the two-match series in Bangladesh. This time, Sri Lanka will head to Chattogram after picking up their quicks All 20 wickets in Sylhet – Sri Lanka’s pace attack has achieved this for the first time since 1986.

Apart from the big win in Sylhet, Sri Lanka have found a lower-middle-order batsman who has found immediate success at the top level – Kamindu Mendis – cheers them up even more.

However, it seems unlikely that the pitch at Chattogram will resemble the moist seam-matched surface on which Sri Lanka stumped for a four-day win. Pitches in Chattogram are much better for batting and spinners thrive there. On that front, Bangladesh feels it has Sri Lanka covered.

Return of Shakib Al Hasan An eye complaint that has seen him unavailable for the tour so far gives him more confidence. Not only is Shakib one of the best batsmen, he also has vast experience as a bowler on the Chattogram deck, having taken 64 wickets in 19 Tests – the most by any bowler at the venue. He is joined by Taijul Islam, the second-highest wicket-taker in Chattogram with 47, and Mehidi Hasan Miraj, who is third with 34 runs.

Sri Lanka’s premier spinner Prabhat Jayasuriya, meanwhile, will be playing only his fourth Test overseas and has four career wickets from home. An offspin-bowling all-rounder Ramesh MendisLikely to come into the XI if Sri Lanka opts for a second front-line spin option, he is still largely inexperienced abroad, having played just two away from home.

Sri Lanka have never lost a Test in Bangladesh, and the margin of victory in Sylhet means they will start the second Test with some confidence. However, Bangladesh feel the game in Sylhet was an aberration. In Chattogram, in Shakib’s ranks, they feel like a completely different team – and maybe so.

Form guide

(Completed matches, most recent first)
Sri Lanka WWLLW
Bangladesh LLWWW

In the spotlight – Shakib Al Hasan and Kamindu Mendis

Shakib Al Hasan Heads will turn wherever he goes, but the newly elected Member of Parliament from Magura Constituency is one to watch out for in this match. Not only was it his first international as an MP, it was also his first against Sri Lanka after appealing for and earning a time-out dismissal against Angelo Mathews in the ODI World Cup. Mathews criticized Shakib and Bangladesh for making that appeal, and It was an echo of the anger that was felt at the time Attended during the limited overs series. If Shakib sees value in pushing Sri Lanka’s buttons again, his new status in the Bangladeshi legislature is unlikely to prevent him from causing more controversy.

Three Test innings in his career, Kamindu Mendis They have scores of 64, 102, and 164. Although he burst onto the international cricket consciousness as a fingerspinner who can operate with either arm, his batting has always been his primary suit. And since his debut for Sri Lanka in 2018, he has clearly taken his batting up a notch, particularly improving his ability to counter the moving ball, a skill that served him well on the spicy deck in Sylhet. Further tests await him as oppositions study his playing and design techniques and exploit his weaknesses. But he now looks set to keep that position in the lower-middle order in a relatively busy Test year.

Pitch and conditions

Zahur Ahmed Chaudhary Stadium has the best batting pitch in Bangladesh. The teams batting first have scored an average of 380 runs in the last five Tests here. Weather is likely to be warm, with an odd chance of showers on days one and five.

Team news

Shakib is likely to lose Shahdat Hossain’s place in Bangladesh’s XI. Nahid Rana’s pace is exciting but the question for Bangladesh is whether he will be effective on the usually calm surface of Chattogram. Hasan Mahmood They may have an option.

Bangladesh (possible): 1 Mahmadul Hasan Joy, 2 Zakir Hasan, 3 Nazmul Hossain Shanto (captain), 4 Mominul Haque, 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Litten Das (walk), 7 Mehidi Hasan Miraj, 8 Taizul Islam, 9 Shoriful Islam, 10 Khalid Ahmed , 11 Nahid Rana/Hasan Mahmood

Rajitha was ruled out with a back injury, Sri Lanka will bring Asita straight into the XI, partnering left-arm pacer Vishwa Fernando. If one of Sylhet’s seamers misses out, Lahiru Kumar is likely to be dropped in favor of another spinner.

Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Nishan Madushka, 3 Kusal Mendis (walk), 4 Angelo Mathews, 5 Dinesh Chandimal, 6 Dhananjaya de Silva (captain), 7 Kamindu Mendis, 8 Ramesh Mendis, 9 Prabhat Jayasuriya, 10 Asita Fernando, 11 Fernando

Statistics and trivia

  • The last three Tests between these teams in Chattogram have ended in draws
  • Asita took 13 wickets at an average of 16.61 on her last tour of Bangladesh, although her figures were 3 for 72 in Chattogram.
  • After scoring 87 not out on the fourth day of the first Test, Mominul Haq needed 25 runs to complete 4000 career Test runs. If and when he gets there, he will become the fourth Bangladeshi batsman to reach the milestone – behind Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib.

Quotes – Everyone is talking about Shakib

“He seems to have lost weight. He is training. He had a good BPL. He has had a good start to the Dhaka Premier League. He is happy and Shakib is the only place we need him. We want to make him happy.”
Nick Pothas, He is standing as the head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe, Shakib on return to Test team

“Why should I talk about him? He’s not on my team.”
Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de SilvaWhen asked to say something above Shakib

Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelph

   
 

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