SL vs BAN 1st Test: Kamindu Mendis Leads Fightback

SL vs BAN 1st Test: Galle, June 20, 2025- Kamindu Mendis, with captain Dhananjaya de Silva, was leading a spirited fightback from the home side. It is on day four of the first Test match between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the Galle International Cricket Stadium. They aimed to close the gap and stay in contention.

Although Bangladesh had started the day with the momentum of a first-inning lead. Sri Lanka was fighting back with some key partnerships and some decent individual performances that changed the dynamics of the game. Albeit with a couple of dismissals that had some chance to be scored better on.

Early Scare Changes Good Start

The day commenced with sunny skies, and with Sri Lanka 127 runs behind and continuing the innings. There was some pressure on Sri Lanka. But the opening minutes shifted to Bangladesh’s advantage fast. In the third over of the morning session, off-spinner Nayeem Hasan took the key wicket of Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva for just 19 runs. It was a sharply spinning delivery. Litton Das was quick to grab the catch behind the wickets.

Then, not long after, Kusal Mendis, who was likely to build on and stabilize the innings, departed in soft fashion. It steered a ball down the leg side into the hands of the canny wicketkeeper.

Hasan Mahmud made his second wicket of the inning leaving Sri Lanka five down. Still more than 100 runs short of matching Bangladesh’s first-innings total.

Kamindu Mendis Soared

After a shaky start, Kamindu Mendis became the lynchpin for Sri Lanka. He showed restraint and maturity on his way to building substance into the innings. Mendis, who scored his fifty from 86 balls. He remained calm and who showed good judgement to instil some confidence for a difficult score.

Mendis remained calm while wickets tumbling all around him. This reduced Bangladesh’s lead to less than 100, and making inroads into the Sri Lankan innings. His strokeplay was correct and he changed the strike well without being stalled by the pressure.

Bangladesh Keep Making Progress

As Sri Lanka tried to settle in, Bangladesh kept up the pressure with disciplined bowling. The combination of pace from Hasan Mahmud, and spin from Nayeem Hasan and Taijul Islam created a number of chances.

Bangladesh will regret the chance to completely demolish the Sri Lankan team as Mendis was beginning to look threatening. The visitors still hold an advantage in runs, but Sri Lanka’s fight suggests they could still turn the tide on the last day.

Playing XIs – A Symphony of New Age and Old

Between the two sides of the Test, both squads fielded competitive teams of equally matched men with some players having experience, with others being trialled. There were older names in the mix for Sri Lanka like Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal, while younger hopefuls like Kamindu Mendis or Milan Rathnayake were seeing their first exposure to the Test arena;

Bangladesh were led by Najmul Hossain Shanto, who assembled a balanced team that combined experience in the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das, with support from Nayeem Hasan, a spinner, and Nahid Rana provided pace options.

What to Expect on Day 5

We are past the majority of Day 4, where Sr Lanka are still trailing but have made in-roads into building their momentum, and we are now faced with the prospect of the final day of a mesmerising Test match. As Kamindu Mendis sits at the crease waiting to bat again, the home team is looking to go past Bangladesh’s total, but even more so to build a minor lead to use in the final innings contention for an unexpected match.

Conceivably for Bangladesh, to lose a couple of early wickets on Day 5 could see them back to their super strong hold of the game.

In Conclusion

Cricket fans will be busily refreshing sports news headlines today to see how SL vs BAN 1st Test develops, and what excitement it has generated as this Test highlights the uncertainty of their prospects. With all round powerhouse performances, tactical hand-brakes, and selfless personal contributions, it is not stretching the imagination to expect this Test match in Galle being regarded as a classic.