Tag: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka first Test

GALLE: Abdullah Shafique starred for Pakistan with a blistering knock of 160 not-out as the touring side clinched a thumping win against Sri Lanka by four wickets on the final day of the first Test, here on Wednesday.

Abdullah led the charge for the Green Shirts during their chase of the massive 342-run target set by Sri Lanka in the final innings of the match.

Pakistan resumed their second inning on the final day with the overnight score of 222/3 and sailed comfortably towards the target despite losing three wickets along the course and a brief delay due to rain.

The overnight pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Abdullah provided a solid start to the day’s play as they added another 55 runs to the total before Rizwan fell prey to the spinner Prabath Jayasuriya following a crucial 40-run knock.

Debutant Agha Salman failed to impress for the second time in the match and managed only 12 runs before Jayasuriya removed him on a caught-behind wicket.

Hasan Ali’s short-lived knock brought Mohammad Nawaz to the crease who scored 19 runs to take his side towards the finish line with undeterred Abdullah on the other end.

For Sri Lanka, spinner Jaysuria remained phenomenal with the bowl throughout the game as he grabbed four wickets in the second inning followed by a five-wicket haul in the first. Whereas, Ramesh Mendis and Dhananjaya De Silva took a wicket apiece.

Moreover, Pakistan completely dominated the hosts during the last two days of the Galle Test as the Green Shirts had a flourishing start to their chase on the previous day after wrapping up Sri Lanka’s second inning on 337.

Earlier, Pakistan raised 218 in their first inning after a magnificent centurion knock by the skipper Babar Azam, meanwhile, Sri Lanka scored 222 during their first inning.

READ: ‘Job isn’t done yet’ centurion Abdullah aims to lead Pakistan to victory

GALLE: Dinesh Chandimal defied Pakistan’s spin attack to give Sri Lanka a 333-run lead after Mohammad Nawaz completed his five-wicket haul on the third day of the first Test, here on Monday.

Chandimal shone with a magnificent knock of 86 not-out and remained firm on the crease alongside the tail-ender Prabath Jayasuriya as Sri Lanka ended on 329/9 at the conclusion of the day’s play.

Earlier Pakistan spinner rebounded after a dominating first session by Sri Lankan batters as Yasir Shah claimed three wickets while Nawaz starred with five.

Sri Lanka looked in a comfortable position on 132/2 before Lunch as Oshada Fernando and Kusal Mendis remained firm on the crease after spinner Mohammad Nawaz provided a breakthrough early in the day.

Leg-spinner Shah dismantled the strong-looking 91-run partnership between opener  Fernando and Mendis when Sri Lanka resumed their inning on 132/2 after Lunch.

Fernando departed without disturbing the scoreboard in the second session after he played a gritty knock of 64 runs.

All-rounder Angelo Mathew failed to impress with the bat as Nawaz dismissed the Sri Lankan veteran cheaply on 9.

Mendis, on the other hand, continued to upset the Pakistan bowlers and looked dangerous on 76 before Shah’s sharp turning ball hit the off-stump to end his inning.

Dhananjaya De Silva combined excellently with the middle-order batter Dinesh Chandimal to raise the 40-run partnership after Sri Lanka were struggling at 178/5.

However, Shah again took the charge and dislodged the stump to send De Silva back to the pavilion after scoring 20.

Meanwhile, Nawaz dismissed wicket-keeper Niroshan Dickwella on 12 and Ramesh Mendis on 22 to complete his five-wicket haul.

Hasan Ali, on the other hand, remained the only pacer to claim a wicket during a spin-dominated day as he dismissed the number ten batter Maheesh Theekshana on a team total of 308.

Earlier, Sri Lanka resumed the day’s play with an overnight score of 36/1 and lost its lone wicket of the session at a 50-run total as Nawaz dismissed Kasun Rajitha on 7 in a leg-before wicket.

Meanwhile, Pakistan raised 218 in its first inning after the skipper Babar Azam shone with a blistering century on the second day despite a batting collapse.

READ: Tamim Iqbal calls time on his T20I career.

GALLE: Sri Lanka finished the opening day of the first Test in a relatively comfortable position as their bowlers restrict Pakistan on 24/2 after the batters could only muster 222 in the first inning.

Pakistan, in response to Sri Lanka’s 222, finished the opening day at 24/2 after Prabath Jayasuriya and Kasun Rajitha removed both openers – Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq – in quick successions for a skimpy 13 and two respectively.

Following the early hiccup, Pakistan captain Babar Azam (1*) and veteran right-handed batter Azhar Ali (3*) will now resume the proceedings for the touring side with a deficit of 198 runs.

Batting first, Sri Lanka could only manage to pose 222 runs on the board despite a valiant half-century from their in-form batter Chandimal as the rest of the batters remained unable to contribute significantly to the total.

The right-handed batter top-scored for the side with 76 off 115 balls in the course of his fighting knock, laced with 10 boundaries and a six.

Besides Chandimal, Sri Lanka’s right-arm pacer Maheesh Theekshana remained the significant contributor as he scored important 38 runs down the order and bolstered the home side to a commendable total.

For Pakistan, Shaheen led the way with four wickets, while Yasir Shah and Hasan Ali bagged two each. Mohammad Nawaz, and Naseem Shah, on the other hand, struck out a batter each.

Sri Lanka, after resuming their first innings at 166/8 in the final session of the opening day, added 56 runs for the remaining two wickets as Theekshana displayed brilliance after Chandimal’s dismissal and added quick runs at the death.

The touring side earlier enjoyed a delightful second session as the hosts could only add 86 runs at the cost of four wickets at the back of a gritty unbeaten knock of Chandimal.

Resuming their score at 80/4 after Lunch, Sri Lanka soon lost half of their side on a combined score of 99 as Shaheen claimed his second wicket by removing Dhananjaya de Silva for 14.

Wicket-keeper batter Niroshan Dickwella’s stay at the crease, also remained brief as the left-arm pacer struck again to provide Pakistan with their sixth breakthrough.

Chandimal and Ramesh Mendis then attempted to anchor the proceedings for Sri Lanka as they added an important 27 runs for the seventh wicket before right-arm speedster Naseem struck his first by removing the latter on 11.

All-rounder Nawaz then further pushed the hosts on the back foot as he removed the tailender Prabath Jayasuriya for four and Sri Lanka, eventually, slipped to 133/8.

Amid the frustrating collapse, right-handed batter Chandimal displayed astounding resilience and kept the scoreboard ticking single-handedly while scoring boundaries at will. He smashed Naseem for three consecutive boundaries in the 45th over to bring up his 22nd Test half-century.

Sri Lanka, after opting to bat first, were off to a poor start as left-arm pacer Shaheen struck in his second over to remove the Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne for a mere one.

Following the early hiccup, the hosts marched towards recovery with a gritty 49-run partnership for the second wicket as opener Oshada Fernando and Kusal Mendis batted sensibly and anchored the innings.

The duo appeared settled and was ticking the scoreboard comfortably, till the 15th over before the returning leg-spinner Yasir removed Mendis for 21. He faced 35 deliveries and smashed three boundaries. Following his departure, the hosts slipped to 60/2.

Pakistan pacer Hasan then added to the misery of the home side as he struck out Fernando in the next over, who remained the top-scorer for Sri Lanka thus far with 35 runs off 49 deliveries.

With the side struggling at 60/3, the veteran Sri Lankan batter Angelo Mathews looked to settle things down and took on a defensive approach, only for bagging a 15-ball-duck to Yasir.

Following Mathews’s dismissal, the home side were in all sorts of trouble at 68/4 in the 21st over. Sri Lanka’s hero for the second Test against Australia, Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva then carried their way till lunch as they added 12 runs for the fifth wicket to help Sri Lanka finish at 80/4.

READ: Sri Lanka win toss, elect to bat first against Pakistan in first Test

GALLE: Sri Lanka have won the toss and elected to bat first in the first Test of the two-match series against Sri Lanka, here at Galle International Stadium.

PLAYING XIs

Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Maheesh Theekshana, Prabath Jayasuriya, Kasun Rajitha

Pakistan: Babar Azam (c), Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman Mohammad Nawaz, Yasir Shah, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah

HEAD TO HEAD

Matches-55, Pakistan-20, Australia-16, Draw-19

GALLE: All-rounder Salman Ali Agha is set to make his debut for Pakistan on Saturday as the Green Shirts unveiled their Playing XI for the first Test against Sri Lanka.

Following his incredible run in the last three seasons of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the all-rounder was initially named in the national team’s 18-member squad for the Test series.

The right-handed batter scored 1,629 runs at a remarkable average of 56.19 in 18 first-class matches since the 2019-2020 season. During this specific period, Agha smashed five centuries and eight half-centuries, while claiming 25 wickets with the ball.

Here's our XI for the first #SLvPAK Test tomorrow! #BackTheBoysInGreen 🇵🇰 pic.twitter.com/VOgFH247N6

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) July 15, 2022

 

Leg spinner Yasir Shah and all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz will make their return to the Test side for the first encounter of the two-match series.

Yasir, who aided Pakistan’s 2-1 series victory over Sri Lanka with his player of the series performance, will play his first Test since August 2021 after overcoming a thumb injury.

Nawaz, on the other hand, will make his return to the Test side after nearly a six-year gap, having played his last red-ball match in November 2106.

Pakistan’s XI: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc, wk), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi and Yasir Shah

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