Pothas in charge of Bangladesh as Hathurusinghe to miss 2nd Test against Sri Lanka

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed on Wednesday that head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe will miss the final Test match against Sri Lanka as he will be travelling back to his home for 'personal reasons', according to ESPNCricinfo. Assistant coach Nic Pothas will be filling Hathurusinghe's place in the second Test match.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) confirmed on Wednesday that head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe will miss the final Test match against Sri Lanka as he will be travelling back to his home for 'personal reasons', according to ESPNCricinfo. Assistant coach Nic Pothas will be filling Hathurusinghe's place in the second Test match. The South African cricketer Pothas joined the Tigers in April last year. Earlier, he worked as an interim head coach for the West Indies and Sri Lanka. On the other hand, Hathurusinghe became the head coach of Bangladesh for the second time in February 2023.

Ahead of the second Test match, BCB confirmed that Shakib Al Hasan will return to the Test fold after a gap of one year. The left-handed batter last played a Test for Bangladesh against Ireland in Mirpur in April 2023. He will replace Towhid Hridoy in the squad. In the first Test match against Sri Lanka, the hosts conceded a massive 328-run defeat in Sylhet.

Coming to Day 4 action of the first Test match, Mominul Haque throughout the day showed grit and put up a stern fight against Sri Lanka's deadly bowling line-up. His composure with the bat kept the Sri Lankan bowlers at bay and helped Bangladesh get past the first session. But wickets kept tumbling at the other end, which restricted Bangladesh to a score of 182 and inflicted a 328-run defeat in the first Test.

Following the win, Sri Lanka secured 12 points in three games and a point percentage of 33.33, moved ahead of South Africa (25 percent) and England (17.50 percent), and are tied with Bangladesh in the sixth spot of the World Test Championship rankings. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have the same number of points (12) and point percentage (33.33). The first Test result win saw a number of changes in the table, with the West Indies moving up to the fifth spot with the same point percentage as Sri Lanka and Bangladesh but with a better points tally (16). Pakistan, with a point percentage of 36.66, moved to the fourth spot with a points tally of 22. (ANI)