Rain Halts Bangladesh's Push for Rare Away Test Victory

Rain brought an early lunch on the fifth day of the first cricket Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in a bid to disrupt Bangladesh's ambitions for a rare victory outside their homeland.

Only 80 minutes of gameplay could proceed on Saturday morning before showers took center stage, halting what was anticipated to be an intriguing final day. Following the decision to break for an early lunch by the umpires, weather threats lingered as dark clouds loomed over the field.

At the end of Day 4, Bangladesh was in a commanding position, scoring 177-3 in its second innings, thereby taking a 187-run lead. Before rain intervention, they extended their innings to 237 for four. The lone dismissal was Mushfiqur Rahim, dramatically run out on 49, just shy of a half-century, leaving the experienced batter dejected. Meanwhile, Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto remained strong with an unbeaten 89, driving his team to solidity. Despite retaining six wickets, the unpredictability of weather, not athletic prowess, now seemed the primary adversary.

(With inputs from agencies.)