The first Test between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh seems destined for a draw despite Najmul Hossain Shanto leading the tourists, who dominated on day four.

Bangladesh's batters finished the day on 177-3 in their second innings, leading the hosts by 187 runs going into the final day.

Sri Lanka looked to push on following Pathum Nissanka's mammoth 187 on day three, and Kamindu Mendis led the way.

He scored 87 runs before edging Nayeem Hasan's delivery to wicketkeeper Litton Das, just five overs after the same combination removed captain Dhananjaya de Silva (19).

Milan Rathnayake (39) put up a fight for the hosts, but the final four wickets fell for just 15 runs.

Hasan finished with figures of 5-121 as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 485, 10 runs short of Bangladesh's first innings total.

Najmul Hossain Shanto (56 not out) and Shadman Islam (76) both made their half-centuries in the Bangladesh second innings, but the latter could not reach the end of play as he was trapped lbw by Rathnayake and sent back alongside Anamul Haque (four) and Mominul Haque (14).

Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim will look to replicate their partnership from the first innings when they come out to bat on day five, but it will take something special for either side to avoid a draw.

That's the close of play on Day 4! Bangladesh are 177/3 in their second innings, extending their lead to 187 runs. A crucial final day awaits! #SLvBAN #GalleTest pic.twitter.com/PjVaCWEKCR

— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) June 20, 2025

Data Debrief: Skipper Shanto makes history

After his 148 runs in the first innings and unbeaten 56 in the second, Shanto has now scored the most runs in a Test match by a Bangladesh captain.

His 204, which is likely to improve on Saturday, overtook Mushfiqur's previous record of 200 from 2013, which was also in Galle.

Shanto is also just the second Bangladesh captain to make a century and a half-century in two innings of the same Test match, after Shakib Al Hasan.