Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva yesterday piled on the runs to put Sri Lanka in a comfortable position on the third day of the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong.
Birthday boy Mendis just missed out on a double century, hitting an impressive 196, while De Silva added 173 as Sri Lanka reached 504-3 at stumps to trail Bangladesh’s first innings total by just nine runs.
Roshen Silva was unbeaten on 87 alongside skipper Dinesh Chandimal, 37 not out, when stumps were drawn at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam gave Bangladesh a rare occasion for joy on an arduous day when he removed Mendis just before the tea break.
Pace bowler Mustafizur Rahman earlier broke Mendis’ 308-run second wicket stand with De Silva, who added 69 runs to his overnight 104.
De Silva and Mendis dominated the Bangladesh bowlers for nearly two sessions after Sri Lanka resumed their innings on 187-1.
Bangladesh had to wait for the second new ball to get their first success, as Mustafizur got a leading edge from De Silva for wicketkeeper Liton Das to complete a high catch.
De Silva faced 229 balls and hit 21 fours along with a six in his fourth Test century and the second in as many Tests.
Mendis, who faced 327 balls for his career-best innings as he turned 23, added another 107 runs with Roshen Silva for the third wicket before he gave a catch to Mushfiqur Rahim at midwicket.
He survived a run-out when he had a mix-up with Roshen in the middle of the pitch after crossing his 150-run mark.
India v South Africa
AFP, DURBAN, South Africa
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane on Thursday shared a 189-run third-wicket partnership and took India to a comfortable six-wicket win in the first one-day international against South Africa at Kingsmead Cricket Ground in Durban, South Africa.
Kohli made 112 — extending his record of centuries in one-day run chases to 20 — and Rahane scored 79 as India reached the winning target of 270 with 27 balls to spare.
“It was quite special,” Kohli said. “The first game of the series is always important and we wanted to take the confidence of the last Test into here.”
Kohli, who now has 33 one-day centuries, said he enjoyed batting in a chase.
“It’s easier. You can break down a total when you have a number on the board, you know exactly what you want to do against each bowler. It suits my game plan,” Kohli said.
The India captain praised Rahane after their partnership took India to within 14 runs of victory before both fell to catches in the deep.
“He capitalized on that No. 4 spot which we have been wanting to sort out for a while now,” Kohli said.
India ended a sequence of 17 successive home wins by South Africa and comprehensively outplayed the team that went into the match as the top-ranked one-day international team.
Second-ranked India controlled most of the match despite a century by South Africa captain Faf du Plessis.
India’s decision to pick two wrist spinners paid off as Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav shared five wickets and were mainly responsible for restricting South Africa to 269 for eight.
Du Plessis made 120 off 112 balls, but it was only late in the innings that South Africa were able to lift their scoring rate on a slow pitch after slumping to 134 for five in 27.5 overs.
Du Plessis shared partnerships of 74 with Chris Morris and 56 with Andile Phehlukwayo for the sixth and seventh wickets.
“Those two wrist spinners have been the difference for us,” Kohli said. “Breaking that middle order was very crucial.”
Leg-spinner Chahal took two for 45 and left-arm wrist spinner Yadav took three for 45.
“We didn’t bat well enough. India bowled really well and we were 50 to 70 runs short,” De Plessis said.
“We tried everything, but Virat and Rahane played really well and had all the answers,” he said of the Kohli-Rahane partnership.
Kohli made his runs off 119 balls with 10 fours, while Rahane struck five fours and two sixes in an 86-ball innings.
There was a scare for India early in the South African innings when Kohli jarred his left knee when attempting a sliding stop on a soft outfield. He left the field twice to receive treatment.
He said he had also strained his groin.
“I’m fine for now,” he said.
Du Plessis reached his ninth one-day international century off 101 balls with 11 fours and added two sixes before being caught at long-off in the last over after a 112-ball innings.
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