2nd Test: Pakistan Declare Innings At 555 After Remarkable Top Order Performances Against Sri Lanka
KARACHI– Pakistan declared their second innings at 555 on Sunday on the fourth day of the second Test against Sri Lanka after stellar performances from the top order. Sri Lanka are trailing by 475 runs.
After a solid partnership by openers Abid Ali (174) and Shan Masood (135), Pakistan entered the fourth day of the Test on a high. Skipper Azhar Ali (118) and Babar Azam (100)* continued to thrash Sri Lankan bowlers on Sunday, maintaining the team’s strong position.
This is the second time that the top four batsmen of a team’s lineup have scored centuries in a single match.
Pakistan’s bowlers then kept up the home team’s dominance over Sri Lanka in Karachi.
They took two Sri Lankan wickets in five balls to see the tourists slip to 40-2. Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne (16 off 28 balls) edged behind off Mohammad Abbas. Kusal Mendis was out for a duck with a thick edge flying to Babar at third slip off Naseem Shah.
The experienced Angelo Mathews fell for 19 to a low catch by wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan that was confirmed by the third umpire.
Dinesh Chandimal (2 off 17) with Oshada Fernando (47 off 74) survived the session but Sri Lanka is still 390 runs from victory or has four sessions to hold on for a draw.
Resuming the day at 395-2, Pakistan put on 160 in 27 overs with Azhar and Babar in complete charge.
Azhar’s century was the 16th of his career and sixth against Sri Lanka. The captain last scored a hundred over a year ago, a span of 14 innings. His 118 came off 157 balls with 13 boundaries before he was stumped off Lasith Embuldeniya.
Babar, 100 off 131 balls, along with Mohammad Rizwan (21 ) were unbeaten when Pakistan declared.
The Karachi Test, which is being played in the National Stadium — the first five-day match at the venue after a gap of 10 years and nine months — will be the deciding fixture of the International Cricket Council World Test Championship.
The first test of the two-test series ended in a draw after more than nine sessions were disrupted by bad weather in Rawalpindi.
SOURCE: DAWN.COM
