Opener Imam-ul-Haq anchored Pakistan’s nervy chase with an unbeaten half-century as they beat Sri Lanka by 4 wickets within the opening Test in Galle.
Chasing 131 for victory, Pakistan slumped to 79-4 after skipper Babar Azam fell to left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, who claimed 4-56 within the second innings.
Imam mixed with Saud Shakeel to regular the ship however Sri Lanka refused to throw within the towel regardless of not having a meagre whole to defend.
Shakeel, who made a career-best 208 not out within the first innings, fell for 30 and Sarfaraz Ahmed (one) did not final lengthy both.
But Imam remained unbeaten on 50 and watched from the opposite finish as Agha Salman secured victory in type by hitting the primary ball he confronted, from Jayasuriya, over the mid-off boundary.
Shakeel, whose maiden Test double hundred helped Pakistan to a decisive first-innings lead of 149, was named Player of the Match.
“The way Saud and Agha played, it totally changed the game,” Babar stated referring to their 177-run partnership, which helped Pakistan submit 461 within the first innings.
“It’s not easy to bat in Galle, but the way Saud’s playing is outstanding.”
Sri Lanka’s prime order could not do justice to their determination to bat first, though the house aspect reached 312 of their first innings courtesy Dhananjaya de Silva’s gallant 122.
“We needed to see off that opening spell but we lost a few wickets,” residence captain Dimuth Karunaratne stated.
“Overall, the bowlers did well, but we dropped a few catches and that cost us. We have to assess what went wrong and come back again.”
The groups transfer to Colombo for the second and last Test starting on Monday.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
