BAN vs SL: Angelo Mathews achieves unwanted record despite a memorable knock

Sri Lanka’s battle-hardened campaigner Angelo Mathews scored a hardboiled 199 under extreme Chattogram heatwave during the first Test against Bangladesh. 

The cricketer, who notched up his 12th Test ton, missed out on a well-deserved double by spooning a simple catch to square leg. However, Mathews was still adjudged as the ‘Player of the Match’ for his efforts as his side managed a hard-fought draw on Day 5 against the hosts.

BAN vs SL: Angelo Matthews plunders magnificent ton, follows up with a duck

On the deciding day, Sri Lanka resumed their overnight score of 39-2 and later overhauled their 68-run deficit without further damage. Kusal Mendis fell for 48 in the opening session, with the scoreboard reading 106-3. Mendis’ dismissal brought first-innings centurion Angelo Mathews to the crease.

Apparently, the 34-year-old failed to trouble the scorers as he fell for a 15-ball duck, thus marking a rare occasion in Test history. Mathews’ scores in the two innings made him the first ever player in Test cricket to register 199 and a duck in the exact match.

Previously, four different batsmen had been unlucky, getting out on 99 and a duck in a Test. The batters were India’s Pankaj Roy (1959), Pakistan’s Mushtaq Mohammad (1973), Misbah-ul-Haq (2017) and current skipper Babar Azam (2018).

BAN vs SL: Honours shared as teams head to Dhaka for decider

The Sri Lankan batters batted out the final day to secure a fighting draw against the hosts after conceding a 68-run first-innings lead. As a result, both teams earned four points each in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship.

The tourists will now shift to Dhaka for the series-deciding second Test match, which is scheduled to be played between May 23 and May 27.