Bangladesh will be looking to overcome their recent dismal form as the perennial minnows try to make their 100th Test appearance an occasion to celebrate against Sri Lanka in Colombo.
Test cricket's newest entrants have showed occasional promise since they were drafted into the elite cricket competition in 2000 but have mostly embarrassed their loyal fans with a series of below-par performances in the game's most enduring format.
They go into Wednesday's Test at the P Saravanamuttu Stadium trailing the two-match series 0-1 after last week's crushing 259-run loss at Galle -- their 76th defeat and the fourth in a row in 99 Test matches.
No other Test-playing country has lost so many times in their first 100 Test matches and the dubious honour highlights Bangladesh's struggle in the five-day format over the past 17 years
So far they have won only 8 Test matches, one more than New Zealand, who had only 7 wins in their first 100 Tests, though the Kiwis managed to eke out 47 draws against Bangladesh's 15.
Five of Bangladesh's eight wins came at home including four against fellow strugglers Zimbabwe. And they won just three of their 46 games abroad -- two against an under-strength West Indies and one against Zimbabwe.
Bangladesh have dropped batsman Mahmudullah Riyad from their squad for the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo that starts on Wednesday March 15,2017
Bangladesh have dropped batsman Mahmudullah Riyad from their squad for the second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo that starts on Wednesday March 15,2017
Mahmudullah, who has played 33 Test matches since his debut against the West Indies in 2007, scored 8 and 0 in the two innings at Galle.
The 31-year-old has scored only one half-century in last seven Tests.
Opening batsman Imrul Kayes has already joined the squad in Colombo as a replacement.
Imrul missed the last three Tests -– respectively against New Zealand, India and Sri Lanka -- because of a hamstring injury.
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