COLOMBO (Sinhalese Sports Club): Opener Abdullah Shafique’s maiden double century and an unbeaten 132 by Agha Salman put Pakistan in the box seat on Wednesday (26th of July, 2023) here on day three of the second Test against Sri Lanka.
The tourists reached 563-5 at stumps, leading Sri Lanka by 397 runs in their first innings at Colombo’s Sinhalese Sports Club.
Salman and concussion substitute Mohammad Rizwan, on 37, were batting in an unbeaten stand of 95 after Shafique’s departure on 201.
Shafique led the mammoth reply in response to Sri Lanka’s 166 as he put on three-century stands, including a 124-run sixth-wicket partnership with Salman.
Shafique, who began the day on 87, reached 200 in the final session with a single off Asitha Fernando, taking off his helmet and pointing to his name on the back of his jersey.
But he was soon caught out at deep mid-off by left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, who also had skipper Babar Azam for 39 earlier in the day.
Fernando cut short Saud Shakeel’s knock on 57 in the afternoon session to take his wicket tally to three.
The fast bowler came around the wicket to trap the left-handed Shakeel lbw and end a 109-run partnership with Shafique.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed made 14 before he retired hurt after feeling dizzy, likely due to a blow he received on his helmet on the first ball faced from Fernando.
He was finally substituted by Rizwan.
Shafique passed 150 for the second time against Sri Lanka with a single off Ramesh Mendis, and then went past his previous Test best of 160 not out.
Pakistan resumed on 178-2 after the Tuesday’s downpours restricted the action to just 10 overs.
Shafique started cautiously but soon hit two successive boundaries off Fernando before a single got his hundred.
Azam added 11 to his overnight 28 before being trapped lbw, with the decision upheld by the third umpire after review.
It was the sixth time Azam had been dismissed in Test cricket by Jayasuriya, who bowled unchanged from one end in the first session.
Pakistan won the first Test in the two-match series by four wickets.
Cricket: Sri Lanka v Pakistan 2nd Test scoreboard
Scoreboard at stumps on day three of the second Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Colombo on Wednesday:
Sri Lanka 1st innings 166 (D. de Silva 57; A. Ahmed 4-69, N. Shah 3-41)
Pakistan 1st innings (overnight 178-2, Shafique 87, Azam 28)
A. Shafique c Madushanka b Jayasuriya 201
Imam-ul-Haq c Madushka b Fernando 6
S. Masood c K. Mendis b Fernando 51
B. Azam lbw b Jayasuriya 39
S. Shakeel lbw b Fernando 57
S. Ahmed retired hurt 14
A. Salman not out 132
M. Rizwan not out 37
Extras (b4, lb16, nb3, w3) 26
Total (5 wickets, 132 overs) 563
Still to bat: N. Ali, S. Shah Afridi, N. Shah, A. Ahmed
Fall of wickets: 1-13 (Haq), 2-121 (Masood), 3-210 (Azam), 4-319 (Shakeel), 4-344* (Sarfaraz, retired hurt), 5-468 (Shafique)
Bowling: Fernando 24-0-133-3 (nb1, w3), Madushanka 17-3-77-0, Mendis 36-2-139-0 (nb1), Jayasuriya 52-11-181-2 (nb1), de Silva 3-1-13-0
Toss: Sri Lanka
Umpires: Alex Wharf (ENG), Raveendra Wimalasiri (SRI)
TV umpire: Rod Tucker (AUS)
Match referee: David Boon (AUS)
AFP/APP
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