Close Sri Lanka 541 for 9 (de Silva 206, Jayasuriya 145, Sangakkara 75) lead Bangladesh (161 all out) by 380 runs
scorecard

Bangladesh's baptism of fire in Test matches continued, as Sri Lanka smashed an amazing 509 runs in an extended second day's play at Colombo. It was a record for the number of runs scored by one team in a day's play, beating England's 503 against South Africa at Lord's in 1924. At close of play, Sri Lanka had amassed a first-innings lead of 380 runs, and another three-day drubbing loomed large for Bangladesh.

For the Sri Lankan batsmen who had struggled in the seaming tracks in England, the flat pitch at Colombo and the toothless Bangladesh bowling attack was just what the doctor ordered, and Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya made the most of the opportunity. De Silva started slowly, but opened out later and pummelled the hapless bowling to score 206 off just 234 balls, while Jayasuriya made more runs in one innings here than he had in three Tests in England.

The day began encouragingly for Bangladesh though. They snared three wickets in the first half-hour, two of those bagged by 16-year-old debutant fast bowler Talha Jubair. First, he had Marvan Atapattu bowled off the inside edge by one that nipped back after pitching on a perfect length just outside off. Atapattu failed to add to his overnight score of 20 (35 for 1).

After Manjural had Russel Arnold caught by Hannan Sarkar at point for 25, Jubair struck for the second time in three overs. Mahela Jayawardene was beaten by another in-dipper, and the ball sneaked through bat and pad to bowl him for a duck. At 56 for 3, Bangladesh were looking good.

Kumar Sangakkara began the Sri Lankan revival with de Silva. Both batsmen reached their half-centuries by lunch, and though Sangakkara was run out for a polished 75, his 150-run partnership with de Silva took Sri Lanka past Bangladesh's total. Jayasuriya walked in to join de Silva, and together they produced the most entertaining period of the day's play.

De Silva showed his complete array of strokes, and excelled at the cover-drive and the flick. He reached his century in particularly authoritative fashion - he pulled Enamul Hoque through midwicket and cover-drove him for consecutive fours. He reached the landmark with a lofted drive over midwicket off the same bowler in his next over.

With Jayasuriya tonking the ball merrily as well, the runs flowed at a torrential rate – the last session of play produced an incredible 190 runs. Bangladesh finally had some respite, when de Silva was adjudged lbw Enamul Haque, attempting a reverse-sweep (440 for 5). His 206 included 28 fours and a six. Haque went on to take three more wickets, including the scalp of Jayasuriya for 145, as Sri Lanka lost a clutch of wickets in the last 45 minutes.

Bangladesh can take some heart from the fact that despite the onslaught, they never wilted in the field. But the prospect of facing Muttiah Muralitharan with a first-innings deficit of almost 400 runs is a daunting one. A ninth consecutive Test win at home looks a formality for Sri Lanka.

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