Mirpur: Set an improbable 521 to win, Bangladesh's batsmen put up a fight led by captain Mohammad Ashraful. An unbroken 74-run stand between Ashraful and Shakib Al Hasan ensured the hosts finished at 254 for 5, a creditable performance given the poor run Bangladesh have had with the bat in recent times. Achieving the remaining 267 will be a miraculous task, but Bangladesh can take heart if they manage to stretch Sri Lanka on the final day. Given the recent spate of record run-chases, nothing can be ruled out though.

Another session ended with Bangladesh needing to consolidate. Chasing an improbable 521, the top order made starts but somehow failed to carry on as the Sri Lankans kept nibbling away at the Bangladesh top order. It was a similar end to the first session when they lost Imrul Kayes and now, at an unsatisfactory 150 for 4, they are in desperate need of a 100-plus stand.

Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene struck 166 before declaring the second innings at 405 for six in the morning to bring the Bangladesh batsmen under pressure.

The hosts lost wickets whenever they looked liked building a partnership, after Tillakaratne Dilshan ran out Imrul Kayes (13) with a direct hit from mid-wicket to end an opening stand of 40 runs.

Paceman Dammika Prasad removed opener Tamim Iqbal for a confident 47 before off spinner Muralitharan removed Zunaed Siddique (37) and Roqibul Hassan (24), taking his match tally to eight wickets.

Brief Score: Bangladesh 178 and 254 for 5 (Ashraful 70, Tamim 47, Junaid 37, Shakib 34*, Murali 3-85) need another 267 runs to beat Sri Lanka 293 and 405 for 6 dec (Jayawardene 166, Samaraweera 62, Sangakkara 67, Dilshan 47).
Full Scoreboard