Dhaka, May 27 (AP) Shakib Al Hasan hit a half-century and Liton Das continued his strong form as Bangladesh reached 149 for five wickets at lunch on the fifth day of the second cricket test on Friday.

The pair added 96 runs in an unbroken sixth-wicket partnership to help Bangladesh take an eight-run lead with Shakib batting on 52 and Liton on 48.

Also Read | RR vs RCB IPL 2022 Qualifier 2 Dream11 Team: Rajat Patidar, Yuzvendra Chahal and Other Key Players You Must Pick in Your Fantasy Playing XI.

Resuming at 34-4 and still needing 107 runs to avoid an innings defeat, Bangladesh lost Mushfiqur Rahim in the eighth over of the day when Kasun Rajitha (2-40) bowled him with delivery that kept low.

Shakib, who took 5-96 to bowl out Sri Lanka for 506 in the first innings, counterattacked to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Also Read | Kiran Navgire Says MS Dhoni’s World Cup Winning Six Inspired Her to Hit Sixes in Every Game.

Liton, after scoring 88 runs in the drawn first test and a career-best 141 in the first innings of this test, went slowly but smoothly to deny Sri Lanka bowlers' quest for another wicket.

He reviewed successfully to overturn an umpire's decision of caught behind when on 9.

The wicketkeeper/batter then pushed left-arm spinner Praveen Jayawickramm through cover for a single to bring up 2,000 runs in his 33rd test.

Shakib, who played in one-day style, raised his 27th half-century off 62 balls, whipping a delivery from off-spinner Dhananjaya de Silva through mid-wicket for a boundary on the stroke of lunch. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)