Shanto leads Bangladesh but chances of draw increase

The question at the start of the day surrounded how exactly Bangladesh would approach their innings, and how long they would want to give themselves to bowl Sri Lanka out. As it turned out, rain largely took the decision out of their hands, briefly pelting down a little over an hour into the morning session, as lunch was called 10 minutes earlier than scheduled.

The stoppage wasn't long enough for any loss in overs, so we will ideally see 94 overs of play across the day; however with Bangladesh's lead at 247 - likely not enough for a sporting declaration - the most likely result now seems a draw.

Najmul Hossain Shanto was unbeaten on 89, and he had put on a stand of 109 with Mushfiqur Rahim before the latter was run out just as the rains came down. Mushfiqur was searching for a tight single to complete his fifty, but a direct hit from mid-on saw him just a fraction short of the crease.

Despite rain having been a threat throughout the Test, there was only one other stoppage across this Test - on the second afternoon - but with rain always a possibility, the lack of urgency from both Shanto and Mushfiqur in the hour and a bit of play was curious.

The talk on the previous afternoon from both sides had been of a desire to push for a result, but Bangladesh seemed content to plod along at a session run rate of just 3.15, seemingly keen to bat through to lunch - or perhaps even beyond.

Conventional wisdom would have indicated the need for a minimum of two sessions to bowl Sri Lanka out, and with Bangladesh no doubt wanting a lead in excess of 300 - probably nearing 350 - a run rate nearing five or more seemed to be the call of the day, but with Sri Lanka also happy to set defensive fields, Bangladesh - who have a had a very lean period in Tests as of late - had no desire to put valuable World Test Championship points at risk.

There was initially some hope Bangladesh might push things along - Mushfiqur drilled one down the ground off the fifth ball of the morning, while Shanto smoked his first delivery faced today down the ground as well. But in general dot balls ruled the day, with both batters content to dead-bat the spinners.

The Sri Lankan spinners, meanwhile, struggled to get the same purchase off the pitch that Nayeem Hasan had so beautifully utilised on the fourth afternoon, with only the odd delivery misbehaving.

All in all, a day that had begun with promise of a sprint finish, now seems destined for a tame draw.