Kaushal Silva’s sturdy and enduring second Test ton was complimented well by the bowlers who took 5 wickets to help Sri Lanka take control of the Galle Test against Pakistan at the end of third day’s play on Friday.
The diminutive right-handed opening batsman stroked his first international ton against Pakistan to anchor the Lankan innings to 300. The hosts’ bowling attack executed brilliantly to jeopardize the Pakistan reply as the visitors were left tottering on 118/5 at stumps.
The third day’s play started sharp at scheduled time of 9.45am and raised hopes of completing the full quota of 98 overs for the day. Angelo Mathews started scoring for Sri Lanka when he crashed down a Yasir Shah delivery over the long-on fence for a six in the 2nd over of the day.
Mathews added only 9 runs to his overnight score when he was castled by the dangerous Wahab Riaz for 19 in the 5th over of the morning. The left-arm seamer used the difficult angle of bowling round the wickets to induce an inside edge.
Dinesh Chandimal and Kaushal Silva added 37 runs for the 5th wicket as the number 6 wicket-keeper batsman stroked 4 boundaries, mostly slamming through the on-side region against the spin of Babar and Shah. Pakistan took the new ball at the completion of the 80th over and Zulfiqar Babar operating from the Galle Fort end bowled a slider which prompted a loose cut shot by Chandimal and was clean bowled for 23 in the 85th over.
Kithruwan Vithanage ruined a perfect chance to stamp his place in the Test team when he was dismissed softly caught and bowled by Mohammed Hafeez for 18 off 21 after he and Kaushal added 35 runs for the 6th wicket. After lunch, Dilruwan Perera was dismissed by Yasir Shah in the 2nd ball for 15 and few overs later Dhammika Prasad was LBW by Zulfiqar Babar before he troubled the scores.
Kaushal Silva’s marathon innings of 125 ended in the 105th over when the ball ricocheted off the back of his bat and popped straight into keeper’s hands while attempting a sweep off Zulfiqar Babar. Kaushal’s glorious second Test ton contained 16 fours and had faced 300 balls. Leg-spinner Yasir Shah wrapped up proceedings when he removed last man, Nuwan Pradeep just after Sri Lanka reached 300.
Pakistan in their reply got off to a forgettable start as Dhammika Prasad removed Mohammed Hafeez (2) in the 1st over when the right hander lashed out at a wide delivery and was caught at third slip by Dimuth Karunarathne. Prasad struck again in his next over as Ahmed Shehzad (9) was caught plumb in front of the stumps courtesy a brilliant in-swinging delivery.
Herath was introduced to the attack early and one drop batsman Azhar Ali had no idea on countering Herath’s arm ball when he was given LBW for 8. From 35 for 3, Younis Khan and Misbah Ul-Haq counter-attacked wisely to rebuild the innings.
The experienced batting pair used their feet well against the spinners to negotiate the spin extracted by both Dilruwan and Herath. Dhammika Prasad and Nuwan Pradeep tried to bounce them out but after a composed 51-run stand, Younis Khan’s ploy backfired on him when he misread a Dilruwan delivery while coming down the wicket which only saw the wood work disturbed behind. Khan scored a terrific 47 off 70 deliveries and his knock comprised 6 fours and a huge six.
Misbah’s rearguard innings was cut short by a scintillating one handed catch by Sangakkara to his left at first slip off Nuwan Pradeep. The Pakistani skipper made 20 runs as they were restricted to 96 for 5 at one stage but Asad Shafiq (14*) and Sarfraz Ahmed (15*) sensibly batted without much risk till close of play.
After the 3rd day’s play, Kaushal Silva gave his views on the majestic century, “It is one of the best knocks of my career. I just wanted to prove a point that I could bat right throughout the innings. I reckon there will be more spin on this wicket in the next couple of days. “
Play will resume tomorrow at 9.45am.
Sri Lanka – 300 all out in 109.3 overs: Dimuth Karunarathne 21, Kaushal Silva 125, Kumar Sangakkara 50, Dinesh Chandimal 23, Wahab Riaz 3/74, Zulfiqar Babar 3/64, Yasir Shah 2/79, Mohammed Hafeez 2/40.
Pakistan – 118/5 in 41.4 overs: Younis Khan 47, Misbah Ul-Haq 20, Dhammika Prasad 2/24.
