Lanka players target pitch's danger area
Sri Lanka were leading by 139 runs at the start of play on day five. The day five pitch was starting to deteriorate and the overnight Lankan batsmen Suranga Lakmal and Dilruwan Perera tried to run through the pitch from the very beginning of day five. On-field umpire Aleem Dar officially warned Lakmal in the 102nd over after he took a single off the bowling of Shakib al Hasan. He ran straight through the middle of the pitch. And when Bangladesh were batting, such incidents started to resurface. When Imrul Kayes got out in the eighth over, Lankan fielders ran through the danger area of the pitch and Aleem again offered an official warning.Sabbir wins Lakmal duel
Bangladesh were under pressure when Lanka skipper Rangana Herath took the wickets of Soumya Sarker and Imrul off consecutive deliveries. Sabbir Rahman came in at No 4 and formed a crucial partnership with Tamim Iqbal. But things got heated up when Lakmal came to bowl in the 28th over. Prior to day five, Sabbir and Lakmal were involved in a couple of interesting battles. Lakmal had the first laugh when he got Sabbir out off a bouncer on day two. On day four, when Lakmal was batting, Sabbir probably said something from silly mid on, paving the way for an exchange of heated words between the two. Finally, Lakmal challenged Sabbir on day five with a barrel of bouncers and tried to entice him to go for an attacking shot. But Sabbir remained calm and played two beautiful drives against Lakmal in that spell and eventually won the duel. A fascinating competition between bat and bowl which you will only find in Test match cricket.
