Published: Jul 06, 2015, 03:07 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 06, 2015, 06:47 PM (IST)
Sri Lanka are on top going into Tea on Day four of the third Test as Pakistan have been reduced to 73 for two. Opener Shan Masood and Younis Khan are battling it out at the crease at the moment. Ahmed Shehzad and Azhar Ali were dismissed for a duck and five respectively that put Pakistan in trouble early on. Suranga Lakmal and Dhammika Prasad are the two wicket-takers for Sri Lanka. Live Blog: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, 3rd test Day 4 at Pallekele
Earlier Sri Lanka were bowled out for 313 in their second innings, thereby setting Pakistan a target of 377. Angelo Mathews scored a magnificent century to help his side reach a commanding position. He was well supported by Jehan Mumabar, Upul Tharanga, but the partnership that really set it up for Sri Lanka was the 117-run stand between Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal for the sixth wicket. Chandimal scored 67. Live scorecard: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, 3rd Test Day 4 at Pallekele
Younis and Masood will look to carry their momentum on in the final session of the day. Younis has not performed well in this tournament and will look t make the most of this opportunity. But it is a perfect scenario for Masood to cement his place with a big score to his name.
Sri Lanka scored 278 in the first innings after they were put into bat by Misbah-ul-Haq in the first innings. Pakistan could only manage 213, after an unbeaten 76 from Sarfraz Khan and 52 fro Azhar. Pakistan conceded a lead of 63 runs and Sri Lanka performed well in their second innings, setting them a target of 377. Imran Khan was the pick of the bowlers for them as he picked up all five wickets to fall today.
Both teams had made four changes in their playing XI. Sri Lanka have begun their new era without their star batsman Kumar Sangakkara well and are closing in on a well-deserved win. The series is currently tied at 1-1, with the winner o f this match winning the series 2-1.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka: 278 (Dimuth Karunaratne 130, Upul Tharanga 46; Rahat Ali 3 for 74, Yasir Shah 5 for 78) & 313 (Angelo Mathews 122, Dinesh Chandimal 67; Imran Khan 5 for 58, Yasir Shah 2 for 80) lead Pakistan 213 ( Azhar Ali 52, Sarfraz Ahmed 78*; Dhammika Prasad 3 for 78, Nuwan Pradeep 3 for 29, Tharindu Kaushal 3 for 37) & 99 for 2 (Shan Masood 52*, Younis Khan 41*; Dhammika Prasad 1 for 20, Suranga Lakmal 1 for 8) by 277 runs.
(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)
