Ashraful and Mushfiqur pummel Sri Lanka on Day 3

Stumps at Day 3: Bangladesh 438/4
Stumps at Day 2: Bangladesh 135/2 trailing Sri Lanka 570/4dec
Stumps at Day 1: Sri Lanka 361/3

After toiling hard in the field while the Sri Lankan batsman dominated, Bangladesh have come out and done the exact same, if not more. Two batsman in particular have owned Day 3 of this first test match. There names are Mohammad Ashraful and the captain Mushfiqur Rahim. Ashraful, once a former captain and wonder child of Bangladesh cricket, came back into the team for his umpteenth return to test cricket. With an average 22.60 many thought that he had his fair go. Including this blogger who said:

Mohammad Ashraful returns again to the national side for the umpteenth time. Let's be honest here, despite his potential shown as a youngster he is now 28. He has batted 111 times in tests for a pitiful average of 22.60. In First Class cricket he only averages a touch better with 28. He has scored some runs in domestic cricket recently, but his repetitive failures over the last 5-6 years at international level should mean a permanent line is put through his name.

Well for the time being I am eating my words. Mohammad Ashraful is unbeaten at stumps on Day 3 on 189*. He has faced an unbelievable 398 balls and has been at the crease since the score was 23/1. Ash as he is commonly well known has beaten many records (which I'll touch on later) in this fabulous knock. His partner in crime though has been the skipper Mushfiqur Rahim who is also unbeaten on 152*. He has faced 236 balls in his excellent knock. These two batsmen have put on an unbeaten 261 run stand in 82 overs. Simply stunning! 

People may wonder why I am appearing to celebrate these achievements so much when Sri Lanka had three centurions in their first innings. The answer to that is that this is Bangladesh we are talking about. They are the perennial underachievers in world cricket and sit dead last on the Test Rankings Table with 0 ranking points. Yes, Sri Lanka had an impressive first innings and yes, this pitch makes concrete look like a minefield, but for Bangladesh to completely dominate a day of test cricket like they have just done (303/2) deserves incredible recognition and praise.

For those unaware of the Sri Lankan centurions in the first innings they were Sangakkara with 142, Thirimanne with 155* and Chandimal with 116*. Sri Lanka's innings was dominated by these three batsmen, but the Bangladesh fielding effort played a part. There were absolute sitters dropped and Chandimal was dropped numerous times in single figures. 

In the context of the game Bangladesh still trail by 132 runs with only two days left to play. The most likely result is a draw, but Bangladesh would probably like to bat for the majority of the day tomorrow to avoid batting for a second time in this match. They would ideally like to bowl at Sri Lanka on the last day with a 150-200 run lead, despite this meaning they would have to make in excess of 720. On the flipside a quick collapse tomorrow would leave a result still open for Sri Lanka and with a fifth day wicket ... who knows what will happen? 

Full scorecard here: http://www.espncricinfo.com/sri-lanka-v-bangladesh-2013/engine/current/match/602472.html

 Records/Statistics
- Highest partnership by Bangladesh (261*)
- Highest individual score by a Bangladeshi batsman
- Mohammad Ashraful's highest test score (189*) 
- Ashfraful's 398* balls faced is the highest amount by a Bangladeshi batsman in a single test innings
- Mushfiqur Rahim's highest test and first class score (152*)
- Highest fifth wicket stand against Sri Lanka by any side
- Bangladesh' highest score outside Bangladesh (416 previously)
- Ashraful has now scored five of his six centuries against Sri Lanka
- Ashraful is now the first Bangladeshi batsman to score 1000 runs against another country (1047)
- Highest partnership at Galle Cricket Ground

Impending records
- 26 runs off the highest partnership against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka
- Ashraful is 11 runs shy of being the first Bangladesh batsman to score a test double century
-  118 runs off their highest test score ever (556 against West Indies only last year)

I would imagine there would be heaps more, let me know if you know any!