Chittagong, Bangladesh: Shamsur Rahman and Imrul Kayes hit maiden centuries to help Bangladesh reach 289-4 at tea on the third day of the second test against Sri Lanka on Thursday.
Kayes struck 115 while Rahman made 106 in his just his second test. Their 232-run second-wicket partnership was a record for Bangladesh.
Both fell to aggressive shots against Ajantha Mendis (2-62) as Sri Lanka refreshed its chances of enforcing the follow-on, having score 587 in its first innings.
At tea, Shakib Al Hasan was on 16 and captain Mushfiqur Rahim on 13; batting despite a finger injury.
Kayes smashed 17 fours and one six while Rahman hit 11 boundaries and one six. Rahman was the first to reach his maiden century in his just second game by hitting an Angelo Mathews delivery to the cover boundary.
Kayes looked nervous on the brink of his century, offering a catch to point off the bowling of Mendis but Kithuruwan Vithanage failed to grasp it. Three deliveries later, off the same bowler, Vithanage held on to the catch in the same area but it was a no-ball.
Rahman and Kayes surpassed the previous best second-wicket stand for Bangladesh; the 200 scored by Tamim Iqbal and Zunaed Siddique against India in 2010. It was also Bangladesh's second-highest partnership for any wicket.
Dilruwan Perera dismissed Mominul Haque to move closer to exposing the Bangladesh tail.
.
