Sri Lanka’s quest of levelling the series hangs in the balance after a shortened fourth day’s play against Pakistan in the second Test match in Galle on Wednesday.
Reporting from Galle
Vice-captain Dhananjaya De Silva’s exquisite century, his ninth in Test cricket helped Sri Lanka set a near-impossible 508-run target for Pakistan. The visitors were 89 for 1 when play was called off early due to bad light.
“We felt that we could defend the runs that we had on the board. We tried to get to a safe zone. We have three more sessions but I don’t think we will have three sessions. Probably two sessions. Need to get four wickets in the first session.” De Silva said after play.
LIVE – Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka 2022 – 2nd Test
After losing the first Test due to a memorable run-chase by Pakistan at the same venue, Sri Lanka somewhat delayed the declaration to make sure the hosts don’t lose the game. However, with rain predicted on day five, Sri Lanka’s task of taking the remaining 9 Pakistan wickets will not be easy on a pitch which has not deteriorated as expected.
After starting day four with a lead of 323, the home team added further 184 runs to give a record-breaking chase of 508 for Pakistan in the fourth innings. The highest successful run chase in the history of Test cricket is 418 by West Indies against Australia in 2003.
The overnight batters for Sri Lanka, Dimuth Karunaratne and Dhananjaya De Silva continued to pile up runs as the pair put on valuable 126-run stand for the sixth wicket. Skipper Karunaratne, who batted with a back spasm, managed to score a valuable 61 off 168 balls.
>> Photos – Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka 2022 | 2nd Test | Day 4
After Karunaratne was caught sharply at short leg by Abdullah Shafique, Dunith Wellalage joined De Silva and the pair put on 35 runs for the 7th wicket before the youngster perished looking for quick runs.
However, the 8th wicket stand between De Silva and Ramesh Mendis proved to be vital for the hosts to set a target above 500. They added 82 runs as De Silva reached his 9th Test century with a beautiful late cut through the cover region. Mendis took only 54 deliveries for his best score in Test cricket, 45.
Chasing a monumental target of 508, the Pakistan openers – Abdullah Shafique and Imam Ul-Haq batted positively on a good pitch. Against the run of play, Shafique fell off Prabath Jayasuriya’s bowling as debutant Dunith Wellalage, who had to run behind to complete a brilliant catch. Skipper Babar Azam joined Ul-Haq and they made sure no more wickets fell in the Pakistan innings before play was interrupted due to bad light.
The umpires stopped play at 3.38pm as dark clouds started to circle around Galle. In total, 26 overs were lost on day four.
Brief Scores;
Sri Lanka – 378 (103): Oshada Fernando 50, Dimuth Karunaratne 40, Angelo Mathews 42, Dinesh Chandimal 80, Dhananjaya De Silva 33, Niroshan Dickwella 51, Ramesh Mendis 35, Naseem Shah 3/58, Yasir Shah 3/83, Mohammad Nawaz 2/80.
Pakistan –231 (88.1): Imam Ul-Haq 32, Agha Salman 62, Yasir Shah 26, Ramesh Mendis 5/47, Prabath Jayasuriya 3/80.
Sri Lanka (2nd Inn) – 360/8 dec (91.5): Angelo Mathews 35, Dhananjaya De Silva 109, Dimuth Karunaratne 61, Ramesh Mendis 45*, Naseem Shah 2/44, Mohammad Nawaz 2/75.
Pakistan (2nd Inn) – 89/1 (28): Imam Ul-Haq 46*, Babar Azam 26*
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Result
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oshada Fernando | c Mohammad Rizwan b Mohammad Nawaz | 50 | 70 | 4 | 3 | 71.43 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | c Naseem Shah b Yasir Shah | 40 | 90 | 3 | 0 | 44.44 |
| Kusal Mendis | run out (Agha Salman) | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 30.00 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Mohammad Rizwan b Nauman Ali | 42 | 106 | 5 | 0 | 39.62 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | c Fawad Alam b Mohammad Nawaz | 80 | 137 | 9 | 2 | 58.39 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | b Naseem Shah | 33 | 61 | 3 | 1 | 54.10 |
| Niroshan Dickwella | c Mohammad Rizwan b Naseem Shah | 51 | 54 | 6 | 1 | 94.44 |
| Dunith Wellalage | c Babar Azam b Naseem Shah | 11 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 55.00 |
| Ramesh Mendis | b Yasir Shah | 35 | 52 | 4 | 1 | 67.31 |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | lbw b Yasir Shah | 8 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 47.06 |
| Asitha Fernando | not out | 4 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 30.77 |
| Extras | 21 (b 4 , lb 5 , nb 12, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 378/10 (103 Overs, RR: 3.67) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hasan Ali | 17 | 3 | 59 | 0 | 3.47 | |
| Naseem Shah | 18 | 3 | 58 | 3 | 3.22 | |
| Nauman Ali | 21 | 2 | 64 | 1 | 3.05 | |
| Agha Salman | 6 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 4.17 | |
| Mohammad Nawaz | 19 | 3 | 80 | 2 | 4.21 | |
| Yasir Shah | 22 | 2 | 83 | 3 | 3.77 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abdullah Shafique | b Asitha Fernando | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Imam-ul-Haq | b Dhananjaya de Silva | 32 | 54 | 4 | 0 | 59.26 |
| Babar Azam | b Prabath Jayasuriya | 16 | 34 | 3 | 0 | 47.06 |
| Mohammad Rizwan | lbw b Ramesh Mendis | 24 | 35 | 3 | 0 | 68.57 |
| Fawad Alam | lbw b Ramesh Mendis | 24 | 69 | 1 | 0 | 34.78 |
| Agha Salman | c Dhananjaya de Silva b Prabath Jayasuriya | 62 | 126 | 4 | 1 | 49.21 |
| Mohammad Nawaz | c Niroshan Dickwella b Ramesh Mendis | 12 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 32.43 |
| Yasir Shah | lbw b Ramesh Mendis | 26 | 97 | 0 | 1 | 26.80 |
| Hasan Ali | b Prabath Jayasuriya | 21 | 54 | 0 | 1 | 38.89 |
| Nauman Ali | c Niroshan Dickwella b Ramesh Mendis | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 9.09 |
| Naseem Shah | not out | 4 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 40.00 |
| Extras | 9 (b 4 , lb 5 , nb 0, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 231/10 (88.1 Overs, RR: 2.62) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asitha Fernando | 20 | 2 | 63 | 1 | 3.15 | |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | 37 | 10 | 80 | 3 | 2.16 | |
| Ramesh Mendis | 21.1 | 6 | 47 | 5 | 2.23 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 4 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 3.75 | |
| Dunith Wellalage | 6 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 3.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Niroshan Dickwella | c Mohammad Rizwan b Naseem Shah | 15 | 25 | 2 | 0 | 60.00 |
| Oshada Fernando | lbw b Yasir Shah | 19 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 79.17 |
| Kusal Mendis | lbw b Mohammad Nawaz | 15 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 50.00 |
| Angelo Mathews | c Babar Azam b Agha Salman | 35 | 62 | 4 | 1 | 56.45 |
| Dinesh Chandimal | c Mohammad Rizwan b Naseem Shah | 21 | 58 | 0 | 0 | 36.21 |
| Dimuth Karunaratne | c Abdullah Shafique b Nauman Ali | 61 | 105 | 3 | 0 | 58.10 |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | run out (Yasir Shah) | 109 | 171 | 16 | 0 | 63.74 |
| Dunith Wellalage | c Mohammad Rizwan b Mohammad Nawaz | 18 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Ramesh Mendis | not out | 45 | 54 | 4 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Extras | 22 (b 13 , lb 3 , nb 5, w 1, pen 0) |
| Total | 360/8 (91.5 Overs, RR: 3.92) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hasan Ali | 10 | 0 | 44 | 0 | 4.40 | |
| Naseem Shah | 12.5 | 1 | 44 | 2 | 3.52 | |
| Yasir Shah | 21 | 2 | 80 | 1 | 3.81 | |
| Mohammad Nawaz | 21 | 4 | 75 | 2 | 3.57 | |
| Nauman Ali | 14 | 0 | 54 | 1 | 3.86 | |
| Agha Salman | 12 | 2 | 41 | 1 | 3.42 | |
| Babar Azam | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6.00 | |
| Batsmen | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abdullah Shafique | c Dunith Wellalage b Prabath Jayasuriya | 16 | 51 | 3 | 0 | 31.37 |
| Imam-ul-Haq | c Niroshan Dickwella b Ramesh Mendis | 49 | 90 | 4 | 0 | 54.44 |
| Babar Azam | lbw b Prabath Jayasuriya | 81 | 146 | 6 | 1 | 55.48 |
| Mohammad Rizwan | b Prabath Jayasuriya | 37 | 69 | 6 | 0 | 53.62 |
| Fawad Alam | run out (Niroshan Dickwella) | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 11.11 |
| Agha Salman | c Kusal Mendis b Prabath Jayasuriya | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 66.67 |
| Mohammad Nawaz | c Dinesh Chandimal b Ramesh Mendis | 12 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 41.38 |
| Yasir Shah | c Kusal Mendis b Prabath Jayasuriya | 27 | 25 | 6 | 0 | 108.00 |
| Hasan Ali | b Ramesh Mendis | 11 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 110.00 |
| Nauman Ali | not out | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Naseem Shah | c Dunith Wellalage b Ramesh Mendis | 18 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 85.71 |
| Extras | 5 (b 2 , lb 0 , nb 3, w 0, pen 0) |
| Total | 261/10 (77 Overs, RR: 3.39) |
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asitha Fernando | 6 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 3.33 | |
| Prabath Jayasuriya | 32 | 5 | 117 | 5 | 3.66 | |
| Ramesh Mendis | 30 | 7 | 101 | 4 | 3.37 | |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2.00 | |
| Dunith Wellalage | 7 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 2.43 | |
