Sri Lanka batter Dinesh Chandimal has returned back home midway through the ongoing second Test in Chattogram against Bangladesh to attend a family medical emergency. He was already dismissed in the second innings of Sri Lanka and the visitors will now include a substitute fielder in place of him for the fourth and final innings of the Test. Sri Lanka's all-format tour of Bangladesh is also set to end on April 3 which makes it clear that Chandimal won't be returning again.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) released an official statement confirming that Chandimal will be returning home immediately and that the team and the board is with him during this tough time. "The player will return home immediately. Sri Lanka Cricket, his team-mates, and the coaching staff fully support Dinesh Chandimal at this moment of need and request that the public respect his and his family's privacy," SLC's statement read.
As for the Test match, Chandimal scored 59 runs off 104 deliveries in the first innings and was dismissed for just seven runs in the second. Sri Lanka are dominating the ongoing second Test as they have set a target of 511 runs for Bangladesh to level the series. The visitors had posted a mammoth total of 531 runs in their first innings with six of their batters scoring a half-century. This is the highest ever total in Test cricket with no batter in the line-up scoring a ton.
In response, Bangladesh were skittled just for 178 runs in their first innings as Asitha Fernando picked up four wickets. Sri Lanka batted again before declaring their second innings at 157/7 and they will now be aiming to bundle out the hosts soon in their second essay to win the series 2-0.
