DHAKA, June 26, 2025 (BSS)—Bangladesh head coach Phil Simmons believes their  lack of ability to build big partnership hit them hard, helping Sri Lanka to hurl the baton in the second and final Test cricket at Sinhalese Sports Club ground in Colombo. 

Sri Lanka are in dominant position at this moment, ending the Day 2 on 290-2 after bowling Bangladesh out for just 247 runs. With Pathum Nissanka batting on 146 and some other key batters are also waiting to bat in an otherwise a good batting track, Sri Lanka looked to have gained a big lead.

“Where we missed a trick was not building big partnerships yesterday,” Simmons told the reporters today in Colombo after the Day’s play. “As a result, we went today with only two or three wickets in hand. It comes back to haunt our batting as we failed to build big partnerships,” he added.

Bangladesh survived just 49 balls after resuming the Day on 220-8. In a pitch where they struggled, Sri Lanka batters milked runs with ease to take the control of the Test.

Simmons said when Bangladesh batted, the pitch was bit two-paced but it played nicely on Day 2.

“The wicket got a lot easier,” Simmons said. “It was nice to bat today. We struggled to get wickets, which is expected on a good surface, so it was a difficult day for the bowlers.”

But on the first day, it was a bit sticky and slightly two-paced, he said. 

“Today, it got a lot better, and we saw how easy it was for the batters. There wasn’t as much turn as yesterday, and the batters batted well. That’s what Test cricket is about sometimes,” he added.

Simmons still backed his pacers Ebadot Hossain, who is playing his first Test after two years and Nahid Rana. The pacers were bit erratic initially, helping Sri Lankan openers gain the momentum. 

“The first spells (of the two bowlers) weren’t great, but they recovered when the team needed it. Rana looked good toward the end, and Ebadot came back well in his final spell,” he said.

Simmons, however, believes his side will learn from their mistakes quickly and will come back on Day 3 with renewed confidence. 

“I hope we’ve taken note of how well Nissanka batted, and that we come out in the second innings aiming for big runs,” he said.

“We’ll come back tomorrow, assess how the wicket is behaving, and make sure we start in the right areas — not like how we began this morning, but a lot better,” he added.