Rangana Herath picked up six wickets in the second innings to clean up Bangladesh for 197 in the second innings at Galle to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Resuming at 67/0, Bangladesh lost the dynamic Soumya Sarkar in the second ball of the day and never recovered from then on, losing eventually by 259 runs.
Herath and Dilruwan Perera proved to be too hot to handle on a turning wicket and the visitors were bowled out in 61 overs. Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das and Mehedi Hasan were the only ones to cross double figures in the middle order.
Once Rahim was dismissed, Herath wasted no time to skittle out the tail and put an end to the declaration debate that grabbed headlines on day 4.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 494/10 (Mendis 194, Mehedi Hasan 4/113) and 274/6 decl (Tharanga 115, Mehedi Hasan 2/77); beat Bangladesh 312/10 (Rahim 85, Perera 3/53) and 197 (Sarkar 53, Herath 6/59) by 259 runs
Take a glance at the talking points from the 1st Test at Galle.
#5 Dilruwan Perera at seven is a feasible option
Sri Lanka walked into this Test match with just six main batsmen and the no. 7 spot was occupied by Dilruwan Perera, the off-spinner. He is no mug with the bat as he had already scored two half-centuries prior to this Test.
Perera enhanced his reputation with the willow in this Test, knocking a fine half-century in the first innings before playing with more freedom in the second innings and smashing a 27-ball 33. He was also tidy with the ball and picked up three crucial wickets in the first innings.
On a final day pitch in Bangladesh's second innings, he had Mominul Haque plumb in front before dismissing the set Tamim Iqbal in his very next over. If Perera can maintain his form with bat and ball, Sri Lanka can ponder the 6-5 combination in Tests.
#4 Rangana Herath is a beast at home
Sri Lanka know that they are virtually unbeatable at home. Much of that credit goes to the skill of Rangana Herath, who became the highest left-arm wicket taker amongst spinners with 366 scalps, overtaking Daniel Vettori's record.
When Sri Lanka did not declare until late on day 4, there was criticism levied at the stand-in skipper, Herath. But the veteran cricketer knew that a final day pitch at Galle was impossible to survive on, especially when he had two more spinners in the side apart from himself.
The judgement proved to be correct as Perera and Herath ran through the Bangladesh top order to reduce them to 104/5 from 67/0 overnight. The skipper ended up with six wickets in the second innings; Herath picked up three in the first innings as well.
#3 Soumya Sarkar impresses for Bangladesh
Bangladesh would be relieved that they have one less headache going into the second Test. Tamim Iqbal has been in reasonable touch over the past few months and now Soumya Sarkar seems to have found his groove.
The aggressive southpaw was brilliant in the first innings, playing Herath and Perera with confidence, before a poor shot selection against Lakmal saw him dismissed for 71. The 118-run opening stand with Tamim in the first innings set a solid platform for the middle order to latch on.
In the second innings, Sarkar showed this attacking nature and raced to a 44-ball half-century to take Bangladesh to safety in the final session on Day 4. A superb ball from Asela Gunaratne, however, ended his stay at the crease two balls into Day 5.
#2 Kusal Mendis is the future
Sri Lanka had been in dire need of batting heroes after the retirement of Kumara Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardena and Tillakaratne Dilshan. They seemed to have found a couple in Kusal Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva after the Australian series.
But the failure of the duo in South Africa brought back question marks. Mendis, however, silenced his critics with a sensational 194 in the first innings that set up a winning total for the Lankans. He showed great temperament and impeccable judgement outside his off-stump to register a magnificent ton.
Although he managed just 19 in the second innings, Sri Lanka know that they have unearthed a gem in Mendis. An attacking batsman of the modern era, Mendis knows to play the defensive game as well and is a great addition to a young Lankan side.
#1 An answer to the opening combination remains
Sri Lanka must have hoped to find a permanent solution to their opening woes in this series. Kaushal Silva was dropped prior to the series and Upul Tharanga was recalled to the top after a string of good performances in limited overs cricket.
Tharanga strengthened his credentials with a terrific century in the second innings but Dimuth Karunaratne continued to fade off after getting starts. This has brought back the opening batsman problem.
If the southpaw does not manage to score big in the next Test, his place will come under heavy scrutiny. Although his double hundred for Sri Lanka A against England Lions last month suggests that he is in decent nick, the runs haven't come as often in the International circuit.
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