GALLE – July 20 (ONLINE) Captain Babar Azam, young batting sensation Abdullah Shafique, spin guns Muhammad Nawaz and Yasir Shah shined as Pakistan trounced Sri Lanka in Galle Test on Wednesday by a margin of 4 wickets.
Shafique completed the victory for Pakistan on the final day with a crispy cut shot through cover-point region, as he was accompanied by a solid Muhammad Nawaz on the other end.
Abdullah Shafique remained star of the show as he smashed second century of his career in six matches he played so far, remaining unbeaten at a brilliant 160.
Captain Babar Azam scored yet another half century in the second innings, following a magnificent 100 in the first innings. No other Pakistani batsman could accompany Abdullah in pressure run-chase for a longer period of time except Muhammad Rizwan, who scored well-fought 40.
Pakistan remained on top on day 4 as Babar and Abdullah dominated whole day, but a twist occurred on the final day as the Sri Lankans grabbed couple of quick wickets just before and after the lunch. However, Nawaz and Abdullah took the green shirts home, with Nawaz scoring a much needed 19.
The chase, 342, is itself a record highest at Galle. Tourists have achieved the win in the final session of the fifth day’s play to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
For Sri Lanka, left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya took four wickets for the hosts and is on the brink of an unprecedented feat of four straight five-wicket hauls in his first two Tests. He took 12 wickets on debut in a series-levelling Test win over Australia last week at the same venue, six in each innings.
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