Asitha dismissed Shanto in the first hour but Sri Lanka could not sieze the momentum, failing to grab several half-chances

Sri Lanka were made to rue a spate of missed half-chances as Bangladesh piled on the misery on the second morning in Galle. The hosts did get the breakthrough they were looking for inside the first hour by dismissing Najmul Hossain Shanto for 148, but Litton Das’ enterprising start ensured the momentum stayed with Bangladesh.

Mushfiqur Rahim, meanwhile, continued in a similar vein to day one, playing deliveries on their merit, nurdling singles, and upping the ante when required. He moved to 141 by lunch, his unbroken partnership with Litton worth 74 off 125 by the break.

But it was Litton who made the morning his own. He had arrived at the crease after Shanto had chipped a drive off the tireless Asitha Fernando to Angelo Mathews at mid-off. It brought an end to a 264-run fourth-wicket stand – the highest at Galle, and the second highest by a Bangladeshi pair for the fourth wicket.

At that point, Sri Lanka might have been hoping for another quick scalp, while Bangladesh would have wanted to ensure stability. It meant Litton began his innings uncharacteristically tentatively, content to defend and leave most deliveries.

A missed run-out opportunity two deliveries before the drinks break might have served as a sliding doors moment of sorts. Litton at the non-striker’s end had called for a single after Mushfiqur had dabbed one towards point. The single was on, but with Mushfiqur ball watching and Litton already on the move, both batters found themselves at the striker’s end.

Sri Lanka, though, conspired to blow the opportunity, firstly by throwing to the wrong end and then Kusal Mendis being too slow in realising that his collected throw needed to go to the non-striker’s end. That was down to Kusal being unaware of the batter’s positions by virtue of having collected the ball in front of the stumps.

Upon resumption of play following drinks, play continued at a similar tempo until a second run-out chance after a dicey single seemingly awoke Bangladesh from their stupor. A quick single to mid-on had Mushfiqur struggling at the striker’s end. A direct hit would have had the batter well short.

The very next over, Mushfiqur took on Prabath Jayasuriya, and laced one inches over his head. By the time Prabath put his hands up, the ball had already passed – a half-chance at best. Then at the start of the next over, Litton shanked one low and hard to midwicket, where Pathum Nissanka couldn’t hold on.

The punishment for that error was instant, with the next two deliveries going comfortably over the same midwicket fielder down to the boundary, before a third consecutive boundary was edged past slip. It was this passage of play that changed Litton’s demeanour entirely.

A few overs later, he launched Prabath down the ground for six, in a 13-run over that saw Mushfiqur offer similar treatment. It meant that by the break, Litton had raced to 43 off 57, while Bangladesh had struck 91 runs in the session.

Sri Lanka can only ponder what could have been, and with Milan Rathnayake having walked off the field having pulled a muscle, their task might only get tougher going forward.