Mohammad Rafique and Enamul Haque bowled brilliantly on a crusty-dry surface and shared four wickets to wrap up the Sri Lanka top-order as the visitors stumbled to 178-5. But Thilan Samaraweera and Farveez Maharoof dashed the hosts' hopes of taking a first innings lead, associating in a 117-run stand for the sixth wicket.

"No doubt, Samaraweera showed sheer patience and didn't give any chance but I was really surprised the way the wicket behaved today. Spinners got turn from the first session but suddenly it turned into a flat track which is really mysterious," said Bashar.

Bashar now set his next target of restricting their opponents within 350 runs and then bat well in the second innings to set a difficult target for the opponents.

"Our main target would be to bat well in the second innings after wrapping up the Sri Lanka innings as early as possible. If we are able to put a decent total, we can even win the match. I tell you it would not be an easy task for Sri Lanka to bat in the fourth innings here," he added.

The Bangladesh captain however said that he was not worried about facing Sri Lanka's spin wizard Muttiah Muralidaran, who could prove devastating on a waning track.

"Yes, it will not be easy to handle Murali in the second innings because we are expecting turn from tomorrow. But after the first innings experience, we believe that we have the ability to face the challenge from the champion bowler," said the country's most successful batsman.

Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene, however, was looking forward to his leading wicket-taker to maintain their hundred per cent winning record against the Tigers.

"Murali can be dangerous from tomorrow afternoon. It is still a very good batting track but there is a chance that the ball would turn from the third day afternoon. Murali can turn the ball on any surface but he gets devastating with support from the pitch," said Jayawardene.

The Sri Lankan skipper said that he was disappointed with his team's batting performance.

"Some players including myself got good starts but have failed to make it big. Samaraweera played brilliantly with Maharoof. Our main target is to score another 50 to 60 runs and anything beyond than that would be a bonus," he added.

"Ashraful played a brilliant knock. But we missed some chances that ultimately cost us. In present day cricket most of the teams try to score as many runs as possible and 300 on a day is not anything new," he said commenting on the home side's first-day performance.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan players complained against pacer Shahadat Hossain after the tea session for making peculiar noises during his deliveries and captain Bashar had to settle the issue with the two umpires.

Shahadat also faced similar complaints during Bangladesh's Sri Lanka tour in August-September.