PALLEKELE: Najmul Hossain smashed his maiden hundred while Mominul Haque and Tamim Iqbal hit fifties as Bangladesh ended day one of the opening Test against Sri Lanka in the driver's seat on Wednesday.
An unbroken 150-run third-wicket stand between Najmul and Mominul took Bangladesh to 302/2 at the end of the opening day's play. Vishwa Fernando might have taken two wickets for Sri Lanka but it was a day of top-class batting from Bangladesh.
Opting to bat first, Bangladesh suffered an early jolt as they lost opener Saif Hassan in the second over. Vishwa Fernando trapped Hassan in front of the stumps as Sri Lanka drew first blood.
But Tamim Iqbal stabilised Bangladesh's innings after the loss of the first wicket, hitting his 29th half-century in Test. An unbeaten 98-run stand between Tamim and Najmul Hossain took Bangladesh to 106/1 at lunch.
In the second session, Najmul and Tamim brought up the 100-run stand with the 22-year-old cricketer completing his half-century. It was a patient fifty by Najmul, who along with Tamim helped Bangladesh recover from the early strike.
However, Tamim departed after scoring an attacking 90 in the 39th over. The opening batsman clubbed 15 fours before Fernando sent him back to the pavilion.
Bangladesh dominated the second session despite Tamim's departure as Mominul Haque and Najmul took Bangladesh to 200/2.
In the third session, Sri Lanka failed to make any inroads as Bangladesh ended day one of the opening Test on a high. The third session also saw Najmul hitting his maiden hundred with a glorious drive through the covers.
Brief Scores: Bangladesh 302/2 (Najmul Hossain 126*, Mominul Haque 64*; Vishwa Fernando 2-61) vs Sri Lanka