Pakistan lead Test series against Sri Lanka
Pakistan registered a four-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first Test of the series on Thursday at Galle. The Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunarathne won the coin toss and elected to bat first.
After winning the toss, Sri Lanka was bowled out for 312 runs in their first innings. Sri Lanka lost its top order cheaply. However, Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva rebuilt the innings and made 131 runs for the fifth wicket. Angelo Mathews scored 64 runs. After that, Sadeera Samarawickrama joined Dhananjaya de Silva and added 57 runs for the 6th wicket until Samarawickrama was dismissed for 36. Dhananjaya de Silva battled till the end with the tailenders and added some valuable runs to the total. Dhananjaya de Silva made his 10th Test hundred and scored 122 runs.
Pakistan made a strong reply to Sri Lanka’s score and made 461 runs. Pakistan lost five wickets for 101 runs. However, after that, Agha Salman and Saud Shakeel made a 177-run partnership for the 6th wicket and turned the game around. Agha Salman scored 83 runs. Shakeel hung around and added 183 runs to the total with low-order batters. Saud Shakeel was the top scorer with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 208 runs. For Sri Lanka, Ramesh Mendis claimed five wickets.
Sri Lanka start their second innings with 149 runs behind, and they manage to score 279 runs in their second innings. Opening batsman Nishan Madushka scored 52 runs. However, Pakistani bowlers took wickets at regular intervals and put pressure on Sri Lankan batsmen. Once again, Dhananjaya de Silva played his part and tried to rebuild the inning. He made a 60-run partnership with Dinesh Chandimal and a 76-run partnership with Ramesh Mendis. Ramesh Mendis contributed 42 runs. Dhananjaya de Silva was the top scorer for Sri Lanka and scored 82 runs.
Pakistan came out to bat to chase 131 runs to win the first Test of the series. However, Sri Lankan bowlers managed to pick up three quick wickets and put some pressure on Pakistani batters. However, Babar Azam and Imam-ul -Haq made a 41-run partnership and set the platform for the chase. Babar Azam scored 24 runs. After that, Saud Shakeel and Imam-ul -Haq added 43 runs for the 5th wicket and took the game away from Sri Lanka. Imam-ul-Haq was the top scorer for Pakistan in their second innings and scored an unbeaten 50 runs, while Saud Shakeel contributed 30 runs. For Sri Lanka, Prabath Jayasuriya claimed four wickets.
