Bangladesh slump yet again

Muralitharan snaps up two before bad light stops play

Muttiah Muralitharan snared two wickets in a brief evening session and Bangladesh slumped to 72 for four today, before a wet opening day of the third cricket Test ended prematurely because of bad light.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and sent Bangladesh in to bat on a gloomy morning and conditions deteriorated, with only 29 overs bowled in three sessions.

Play got under way on schedule despite a light shower in the morning but three rain-induced breaks caused problems for the Bangladeshi batsmen, who are already down 2-0 in the three-match series. Pacer Lasith Malinga claimed the first wicket, trapping Javed Omar leg before for eight with a delivery that straightened after pitching and caught him directly in front.

Former captain Habibul Bashar, in the first over after the first rain interruption, got an edge to a Farveez Maharoof ball that jagged back and was caught for 18, ending a 40-run second-wicket stand with Shahriar Nafees.

Muralitharan struck twice after the tea interval, having Rajan Saleh caught at slip without scoring and Nafees (29) out driving directly to Sujeeva de Silva at mid-off.

He returned with 2 wickets conceding only 10 runs off nine overs before umpires ended days play because of bad light. Sri Lanka have recorded clean sweeps on two previous instances in three-match series and are targeting a third. They won all three tests in a series against the West Indies in 2001 and against Zimbabwe in 2001-2002.

Sri Lanka beat Bangladesh here in the first Test by an innings and 234 runs and the second by an innings and 90 runs.