GALLE: Prabath Jayasuriya struck twice to force a late twist in the ongoing Galle Test as Pakistan slipped to 48/3 at stumps on Day 4 while chasing 131 against Sri Lanka.
Set to chase a modest 131, Pakistan suffered a mini top-order collapse and were 48/3 at the stumps with Babar Azam (6) and Imam-ul-Haq (25) at the crease.
The touring side had a poor start to their run chase as opener Abdullah Shafique was caught behind off Prabath Jayasuriya in the seventh over and could score a mere eight.
Jayasuriya then struck again to cause a stir in the modest run chase when he removed Shan Masood (7) to draw a second success for Sri Lanka.
The hosts found a fortunate breakthrough when night watchman Noman Ali (0) fell victim to suicidal running between the wickets.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq then made sure there were no more hiccups as they added an unbeaten 10 runs for the fourth wicket before the conclusion of an enthralling fourth day of the ongoing first Test.
Sri Lanka, resuming their second innings at 210/6, could add 69 runs to the total before Pakistan ran through their lower order after Dhananjaya de Silva’s heroics.
The pair of de Silva and Ramesh Mendi, who stabilized Sri Lanka’s second innings, could not stretch their seventh-wicket partnership as Pakistan got the breakthrough briefly after the Tea break.
Abrar Ahmed bowled a fuller delivery and trapped Mendis plumb in front to expose Sri Lanka’s batting tail.
The right-handed batter fell just eight short of a gutsy half-century. His 42-run knock featured three boundaries and a six.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam brought his ace pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi into the attack after the new ball was taken.
Dhananjaya de Silva looked to counter the move by charging at Afridi with back-to-back boundaries but the latter had the last laugh as he hit back with a caught behind to draw a major success for Pakistan.
De Silva top-scored for Sri Lanka with a 118-ball 82, laced with 10 boundaries and two sixes.
The left-arm pacer then struck again in his next over as he deceived number 10 Prabath Jayasuriya with a slower delivery.
Sri Lanka then eventually got bundled out in the next over when Abrar Ahmed dismissed Kasun Rajitha with a luring delivery outside off.
For Pakistan, Abrar and Noman picked up three wickets each while Agha and Afridi bagged two each.
Sri Lanka were 210/6 at Tea with Dhananjaya de Silva holding his ground firm with a gutsy half-century.
The enthralling session of the penultimate day was majorly dominated by the touring side as they made three strikes including opener Nishan Madushka, who scored a brilliant half-century.
Noman Ali provided a major success to the touring side briefly after the break when he got Madushka caught behind, who scored 52 which featured seven boundaries and a six.
Sri Lanka’s hero with the bat in the first innings Dhananjaya de Silva then walked up to the middle and joined veteran Chandimal in the middle.
Fancying his brilliant record against Pakistan, Sri Lanka’s middle-order batter looked to anchor the innings alongside Chandimal.
The pair added 60 runs to the total before Salman Ali Agha broke the budding stand by removing Chandimal, who scored a gritty 28.
Sri Lanka then endured another setback when Agha struck again for Pakistan, dismissing wicketkeeper batter Sadeera Samarawickrama on a run-a-ball 11.
Agha’s strike left Sri Lanka reeling at 175/6 with a meagre lead of 26 runs but de Silva found subtle support at the other end in the form of Ramesh Mendis.
The pair had raised 35 runs for the seventh wicket before the officials called for the Tea break.
At the stroke of Lunch, Sri Lanka were still 55 runs behind with opener Nishan Madushka sniffing a gritty half-century.
The home side, resuming at an overnight score of 14/0, could only add 28 runs to their total before sustaining the first blow.
Abrar Ahmed provided the breakthrough to the touring side as he removed Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne by luring him into playing a loose shot. He scored 20 off 27, hitting four boundaries.
Madushka then joined forces with wicketkeeper batter Kusal Mendis and stitched a brief partnership for the second wicket.
The pair added 37 runs amid their stand and put Pakistan in dire need of a wicket.
The breakthrough came in the 25th over of the second innings when Noman Ali trapped Mendis lbw to dent Sri Lanka’s march.
The left-arm spinner then gave Pakistan an edge over Sri Lanka when he struck again eight overs later to get rid of experienced Angelo Mathews.
He bowled a good length ball which turned more than Mathews expected and took a fine nick off his bat and past the keeper. Pakistan captain Babar Azam dove to his left and took a one-handed screamer to mark the end of Mathews’s brief knock.
The right-handed batter could score a mere seven in 21 deliveries and hit a boundary.
Mathews’s dismissal gave Pakistan an upper hand over Sri Lanka, who are still 55 runs in the deficit.
Opening batter Madushka was Sri Lanka’s mainstay amid an eventful first session. He was unbeaten on 47 in 106 deliveries, laced up with six boundaries and a six.
Experienced Dinesh Chandimal, who made a modest contribution in the first innings, was not out on one.
Noman Ali led the bowling attack for Pakistan with two wickets, followed by Abrar Ahmed with one.
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