Mominul century rescues Bangla

Mominul Haque hit an unbeaten century to steer Bangladesh to a draw in the second and final Test against Sri Lanka in Chittagong on Saturday, leaving the tourists with a 1-0 series win.

Bangladesh, who needed to bat out their second innings after being set an improbable victory target of 467, were 271/3 when stumps were drawn on the fifth day at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium.

Mominul, a 22-year-old left-hander, held the innings together till both sides accepted the draw as soon as he reached 100, his third Test hundred, the post-tea session.
Shakib Al Hasan returned unbeaten on 43 as he and Mominul added 120 for the fourth wicket after Bangladesh were 151/3 before tea.

Sri Lanka, who won the first Test by an innings and 248 runs in Dhaka last week, failed to dislodge the hosts who appeared determined to salvage their battered reputation.
It was only the second draw in 16 Tests between the two countries, with Sri Lanka having won the other 14 matches, eight of them by an innings margin.

Bangladesh, who languish at the bottom of the Test rankings at number 10, have lost 68 of their 83 Tests since gaining full status in 2000, winning just four.

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim said he was delighted with the draw and hoped the momentum gained by his side will spill over to the limited-overs contests.

“Such a performance was badly needed,” he said. “The boys stuck to the task and delivered.”

SRI LANKA (I Innings): 587
BANGLADESH (I Innings): 426
SRI LANKA (II Innngs): 305/4 decl
BANGLADESH (II Innngs, O/n: 12-0):
Tamim b Vithanage    31
Rahman b Perera    45
Kayes lbw Perera    25
Haque (not out)    100
Shakib (not out)    43
Extras: (B-12, LB-2, NB-13)    27
Total (for 3 wkts, 84.4 overs)    271
Fall of wickets: 1-71, 2-81, 3-151.
Bowling: Lakmal 13-5-30-0, Perera 28-7-55-2, Mendis 16-0-61-0, Pradeep 9.4-1-33-0, Vithanage 16-0-73-1, Karunaratne 2-0-5-0.