Published: Jul 07, 2015, 01:27 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 07, 2015, 02:01 PM (IST)
Younis Khan and Shan Masood scored magnificent centuries to lead Pakistan to a seven-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the third Test at Pallekele. This is Pakistan’s highest ever run chase to win the match. Pakistan have also won the three-match series 2-1. Pakistan have gone past India and moved into No.3 in the ICC Test rankings.
Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq ensure there no further hiccups on Day Five after Shan Masood was dismissed for a well made 125. which was his first century in Tests. Younis carried his bat throughout the innings and put on a record-breaking 242 runs for the third wicket with Masood, which ensured that Pakistan were just within touching distance of a famous win. Full updates: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan 3rd Test, Day 5 at Pallekele
Younis during his unbeaten century beat many records including surpassing Don Bradman’s 29 centuries. Younis also registered the highest individual score for Pakistan in the fourth innings. Younis was in a bit of pressure going into this game as he had not performed well in the last couple of matches. He has answered his critics courtesy of this innings. Full scorecard: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, 3rd Test Day 5 at Pallekele
This has been a match with ups and downs. It started on Day One, when Pakistan had won the toss and elected to bowl first. Sri Lanka got off to a decent start but opener Dimuth Karunaratne was the star of the Sri Lankan innings as he managed to score an excellent 130 to take Sri Lanka to a decent 278. But Pakistan were poor in their first innings as half-centuries from Azhar Ali and Sarfraz Ahmed saved them from an embarrassment of getting bowled out for a low score. READ: Misbah-ul-Haq scores 1,000 Test runs against Sri Lanka
Pakistan however conceded a lead of 63 runs in the first innings. Sri Lanka batted much better in the second innings. Upul Tharanga once again got out in the forties, just like he did in the first innings. But Dinesh Chandimal scored 67 and Angelo Mathews made 122 and the duo added 117 for the sixth wicket, which gave Sri Lanka the initiative.
But Imran Khan turned up on the fourth day and picked up five wickets in the first session to bowl Sri Lanka out for 313. Pakistan therefore had to chase down 377 for a win. The highest Pakistan total in the fourth innings before this was 343 for three. Misbah and Younis finished the match in a hurry in the second session on the final day, with Misbah scoring an unbeaten fifty himself. READ: Younis Khan goes past Don Bradman
Sri Lanka will be very disappointed with their performance as they had the upper hand for most part of the match. The absence of seasoned spinner, Rangana Herath probably effected them as he was dropped after a string of poor performances.
Sri Lanka played this match without the Kumar Sangakkara, who had opted out of this match but he will be available for the upcoming tour of India, which will be his last series. Sri Lanka will look to put in better performances in the upcoming matches without their legendary batsman. READ: Younis Khan becomes first player to score 5 Test tons in 4th innings
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) beat Pakistan 213 ( Azhar Ali 52, Sarfraz Ahmed 78*; Dhammika Prasad 3 for 78, Nuwan Pradeep 3 for 29, Tharindu Kaushal 3 for 37) & 382 for 3 (Shan Masood 125, Younis Khan 171*, Misbah-ul-Haq 59*; Dhammika Prasad 1 for 65, Suranga Lakmal 1 for 48) by 7 wickets.
Man of the match: Younis Khan
Player of the series: Yasir Shah
(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)
