Pakistan claims Test victory against Sri Lanka

Pakistan claims Test victory against Sri Lanka

A magnificent century by Azar Ali and a captain's knock by Misbah-ul-Haq grinded Sri Lanka by five wickets to level the series 1-1 in the third and final test here at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium yesterday. Chasing 302 to win in 59 overs Pakistan reached the target with nine balls to spare under fading light.
Pakistan had come here with intent after conceding a 1-0 lead to the visitors in Dubai and despite being firmly on the back foot for more than four days, put a heroic effort to beat the Sri Lankans and keep their unbeaten record intact in the UAE.
Azar Ali was dismissed seven runs short of the target for an outstanding 103 off 137 balls after sharing two match winning partnerships with Sarfraz Ahmed and Misbah, the protagonist of their magnificent chase.
 
Misbah remained unbeaten on 68 off 72 deliveries as they delivered a fitting farewell to their out-going coach Dave Whatmore.
 
Sri Lanka had begun the day five with intent and with clear aggression as they took the bowlers to the sword in the early morning session scoring rapidly but lost their appetite before lunch going about their business on a snail's pace. Jayawardane began to cut loose with a flurry of shots around the stadium while Mathews occupied his wicket with relative calmness as they piled up runs at a regular pace in hope of getting Sri Lanka into a comfortable position before declaring.
 
But this lasted only for a while. When Mathews departed playing a miscued hook in the 14th over of the day, the visitors pushed the reverse gear, as if they had lost their appetite to go for a kill.
The pair added 56 runs off in 13.4 overs in the morning before Mathews perished for 31 attempting to hook off Mohammad Talha. Jayawardane was on 39 and Sri Lanka were well within a score in excess of 350 but the lack of aggression from the lower middle order, fetched Sri Lanka just 25 runs in 18 overs, as Pakistan finish off the Sri Lankan tail in an extended morning session for 214, a lead of 301.
 
If Jayawardane was aggressive early on, he was attritional lately adding just seven runs after occupying the crease for 12.1 overs since Mathews left. He was out for 46.
Dilruwan Perera and Rangana Herath departed in successive balls off Abdur Rehman before Saeed Ajmal finished off the remaining two as Pakistan took lunch with an imposing 302 to win off 59 overs to level the series. Along the way Herath became the first Sri Lankan to bag a pair in Tests, edging to slip off successive balls.