Galle springs a surprise as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh settle for a draw

Angelo Mathews had played more Test cricket than anyone else on the field in Galle, and even he thought the worst Bangladesh could do after making 495 in the first innings, was end up with a draw.

Sri Lanka had had a small window in which they could have pushed for victory. But having been 4 for 377 at one stage in the first innings, they were all out for 485, which meant they actually registered a 10-run deficit in the first dig. Najmul Hossain Shanto made twin centuries in this game, hitting 148 in the first innings, and 125 not out in the second.

"Once you get 400 in the in the first innings, it's really difficult to lose a game," Mathews said. "After losing three early wickets I thought Shanto batted beautifully in the first innings. But it was a tough wicket for the bowlers, to be honest."

Shanto agreed with Mathews about the state of the surface, actually. Galle is generally a spin-bowlers' paradise, but even with a lot of sunshine falling on this deck through the Test, it did not produce the kinds of batting collapses it usually does.

Shanto, the game's top-scorer, had this to say: "The wicket on day five wasn't as we expected. We were batting comfortably even on day four. We wanted to get into a position which allowed us more possibilities of winning, and take losing out of the equation."

Their victory push was weakened by rain. Showers came through soon after 11 am on Saturday, and play could only resume at 2:10 pm. That lost time would have been useful for Bangladesh.

"Rain forced us to change our plans," Shanto said. "I think we were always playing to win the Test. We took our time in the morning as we wanted to see how much the wicket would change. We were batting at three runs an over. If we could bat till lunch, the scenario would have been different. We needed at least 60 to 70 overs (to bowl at Sri Lanka) given the pitch conditions on the fifth day. I am still happy that we took four wickets in the limited time we had with the ball."

Thanks in part to the rain delay, Bangladesh only had 37 overs at Sri Lanka's batters. The hosts survived, losing five wickets in 32 overs.