Sri Lanka wrapped up a dominant Test series win against Bangladesh with a crushing innings and 78-run victory in the second and final Test match at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. After the first Test ended in a draw, the hosts came out all guns blazing to take the series 1-0 with a commanding all-round performance
Pathum Nissanka was the standout performer of the match. He played a masterclass of an innings, scoring a calm and composed 158 off 254 balls, peppered with 19 boundaries. His knock gave Sri Lanka the platform for a mammoth first-innings score of 458. He found solid support from Dinesh Chandimal (93) and Kusal Mendis (84).
On the other hand, Bangladesh again failed to perform. Apart from Shadman Islam's 46 rest of the batters failed to score runs. Sri Lanka pacers Asitha Fernando and Sonal Dinusha picked up three wickets each that helped the hosts to bundle out the visitors for just 247 runs.
After facing a daunting 211-run deficit, Bangladesh's second innings flopped as, during Day 3 stumps, they were in a spot of bother, losing six wickets on just 115 runs. On Day 4, Prabath Jayasuriya took over, spinning his way through the lineup to claim a brilliant five-wicket haul, as Bangladesh crumbled for just 133. Mushfiqur Rahim was the lone performer in the second innings, scoring 26 runs. This was the 47th time that Bangladesh lost a Test match by an innings and the ninth time against Sri Lanka.
After the defeat, Najmul Hossain Shanto stepped down from the Test captaincy.
"I don't want to continue [as captain] in the Test format anymore. This is not personal. I have taken the decision for the betterment of the team," Shanto said. "I think this will help the team. I have been a part of the dressing room for the past few years. I think three captains [for the three international formats] is not sensible. I don't know what the board will feel about this, and I will support their decision. But this is my personal decision. I think three separate captains will be difficult for the team to deal with. "I would want that no one feels this decision is emotional, or that I am disappointed by something. I want to make this clear. This is for the betterment of the team" said Shanto after Bangladesh's defeat.
Shanto has captained Bangladesh in 14 Tests. During his captaincy, Bangladesh won four and lost nine Tests, including the recent defeat against Sri Lanka.