2001-02 (Asian Test Championship)
A week after their demolition by Pakistan, Bangladesh took on Sri Lanka, who had just beaten India by an innings. Another hopeless mismatch was widely predicted - and resulted, though not before some Bangladeshi pride was restored. Even before a ball was bowled, the visitors were left in little doubt about their standing in Sri Lankan eyes: attendance was derisory, despite free entry, while Jayasuriya was sure enough of a quick kill to bowl first on a near-perfect batting pitch. And, by the time Muralitharan took the final wicket, before tea on the third afternoon, their assessment had been vindicated: Sri Lanka won by an innings and 137 runs, then their biggest victory in Tests. One Bangladesh player, however, saved the game from complete farce, and his team from total humiliation. Mohammad Ashraful, on debut, became the youngest player to hit a century in Test history.
2002 (Sri Lanka)
After being hammered the previous September, Bangladesh returned for a two-match series, but still seemed to be regarded as little more than practice material. After a full-strength side had won Sri Lanka's biggest ever victory in the first Test, the selectors controversially decided to rest seven players, including Muttiah Muralitharan, who had just taken ten wickets, and Aravinda de Silva, who had scored a double-hundred in what proved to be his final Test. Jayasuriya protested, especially at the omission of Murali, and the sports minister, Johnston Fernando, expressed his disappointment, but declined to intervene as he had done in a similar case six months earlier. Even against a mostly second-string team, Bangladesh failed to last the distance, losing the second Test by 288 runs inside four days. That stretched their Test record to 12 defeats from 13 matches. Although Sri Lanka themselves had had to wait 14 Tests for their first victory, and the record remains New Zealand's 45, it reinforced the argument that the ICC might have been premature in granting Bangladesh full Test status. It was a useful tonic for Sri Lanka, however, who were keen to get back to winning ways after a disastrous tour of England. By the end of the series, they had won ten home Tests on the trot. They went on to sweep the board in the shorter version of the game, winning all three one-day internationals, though a lack of public enthusiasm for these easy pickings - Bangladesh suffered their 50th defeat in 53 one-day internationals - was reflected in poor crowds for most of the tour, even when entry was free. The tourists were offered one consolation at the end of the one-day games when their captain, Khaled Masud, was named Man of the Series for his tidy wicketkeeping and consistent batting. Tests Sri Lanka 2 Bangladesh 0 ODIs Sri Lanka 3 Bangladesh 0
