Abdullah Shafique's unbeaten 160* in the fourth innings helped Pakistan chase down 342 on the last 2 days of the Test match! Despite 12 wickets going down on the opening day of this Test, the match went into the fifth day with batting becoming easier as the game progressed!
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| Image Credits: SportsTak |
Shafique who was playing just his 6th Test match showed a lot of maturity during this steep run-chase and helped Pakistan take the lead up front in the series! The visiting captain Babar Azam's century (119 runs) in the first innings was another highlight for them in this Galle Test.
Earlier in the Test, Sri Lanka posted 222 runs in their first innings having opted to bat first courtesy of 76 runs from Chandimal. Prabath Jayasuriya with his 5-fer reduced Pakistan to 148/9 in their first innings. Just when Sri Lanka were staring at a bigger first innings lead, Babar Azam got to his 7th Test century taking his team to 218 runs thereby conceding just a 4-run lead to the hosts!
During Sri Lanka's 2nd innings, Dinesh Chandimal (94*), Kusal Mendis (76), and Oshada Fernando (64) stepped up with half-centuries. Chandimal was the pick of home team batters with the best performances in both innings, even though he was left stranded in the 90s in the 2nd innings!
Sri Lanka posted 337 runs in their 2nd innings posting a target of 342 for the visiting side who chased it down successfully in the 2nd session on Day 5 with 4 wickets in hand. Deservingly, Abdullah Shafique has been adjudged as the Player of the Match for his crucial century in the fourth innings of a Test!
Brief Scores: Pakistan - 218 all out (Babar Azam - 119, Prabath Jayasuriya - 5/82) & 344/6 (Abdullah Shafique - 160*, Prabath Jayasuriya - 4/135) defeated Sri Lanka - 222 all out (Dinesh Chandimal - 76, Shaheen Afridi - 4/58) & 337 all out (Dinesh Chandimal - 94*, Mohammad Nawaz - 5/88) by a margin of 4 wickets
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