SL VS PAK 1ST TEST

That is it from this interesting Test match. Pakistan go 1-0 up but Sri Lanka know they were very close to making an impact. They do have a chance to level the series as these two meet again here in Galle on 24th July at 10 am IST (4.30 am GMT). Do join us for the build up, well in advance. Till then, goodbye and cheers!

Babar Azam, the captain of Pakistan says their bowlers did well to put pressure on them. Adds that they were thinking of just creating partnerships and he applauds the tail-enders who built crucial stands with him in the first innings. On being asked whether the Galle wicket surprised him, Babar says that Pakistan were aware that the wicket will offer a lot of spin and the batters were accordingly prepared to graft it out. Applauds Abdullah Shafique for his innings and says, as a youngster, he has a good temperament and is showing a lot of class.

Dimuth Karunaratne, the skipper of Sri Lanka, says they should have put up a big score in the first innings, as he has been stressing for the past few days, especially in Galle. He feels the bowler's bowled well in the first innings but in the second innings, they were not able to support Prabath Jayasuriya from the other end. Adds that Pakistan were batting well and Babar Azam was well supported by the tail. As a bowling unit, they should have bowled much better. On being asked about Jayasuriya probably being in doubt for the next Test given the amount of overs he bowled in this match, Karunaratne shrugs it off, saying that Jayasuriya is experienced enough in first-class cricket, to be used to bowling a lot of overs and adds that he has done really well in Test cricket so far. On being reminded about Sri Lanka's bounceback ability and the next Test being Angelo Mathews' 100th, Dimuth marvels at the fact that it is certainly not easy to play 100 Tests and wows the veteran's contribution and perseverance. Regarding the game, he looks forward to that game to enable his team correcting the mistakes made in this Test and coming back stronger

Abdullah Shafique is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his exceptional match winning innings. He thanks God and says he is happy that he was able to contribute towards achieving the record run chase. Admits that it was difficult out there but by applying himself in this innings, he has gained good experience for the future. Says that when the spinners bowl with a new ball, there is pace for them on offer and they need to just stick around. However, once the ball gets old it gets easier to score runs. Praises Babar Azam by saying he is one of the best batters in the world and there is a lot to learn from him and he is grateful for the opportunity to play alongside him.

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Earlier, Sri Lanka got to a decent total in the first innings thanks to Dinesh Chandimal, who played really well with the tail to get them over 200. Yasir Shah picked two wickets in his comeback Test to start off on a positive note while Shaheen Afridi was the pick of the bowlers grabbing four wickets. Pakistan in reply managed to get really close to Sri Lanka's total, courtesy of their skipper Babar Azam, who seems to be racking up centuries for fun. Prabath Jayasuriya picked up his third consecutive five-fer and was at his best. The game was in the balance up until then. Sri Lanka came out strong in their second outing to set a steep target of 342 runs with the help of half-centuries from Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal. Mohammad Nawaz picked up his first five wicket haul and was ably supported by Yasir Shah who took 3 wickets. Then it was all upto the Pakistan batters to try and achieve the difficult target and they have done so in style.

Sri Lanka will be absolutely disappointed with their bowling effort. They seem to be depending too much on Prabath Jayasuriya to help them achieve victory and despite his 9-wicket haul in this game, he ends up on the losing side. There was hardly any support from the other bowlers and the fielders seemed to be adding to their woes. Two dropped catches of Abdullah Shafique may have come late in his innings but his wicket would have definitely sent some ripples in the Pakistan camp. If they have to consistently challenge at the highest level, they need to improve their fielding, catching, and wicket-keeping. They will look to pick themselves up from this defeat and make a strong comeback in the series.

Pakistan have been outstanding in this run chase. Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique got them off to an amazing start adding 87 runs for the opening stand. They laid the platform for Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan to play useful cameos and make the target achievable. All the credit for this victory should be extended to the young Abdullah Shafique who played all through Pakistan’s second innings to get them beyond the finish line. He faced 408 deliveries on a difficult track to reach 160 runs. In just his sixth Test match he is proving to be mature and composed well beyond his age, and Pakistan seem to have a large pool of talent at their disposal. If he continues to play the way he has so far, we could witness the making of an outstanding cricketer.

Pakistan began the session looking to knock off the runs quickly and Hasan Ali perished early in that attempt. Mohammad Nawaz came to support Abdullah Shafique and together they kept chipping away at the target. Shafique offered a way back for Sri Lanka when he top edged a slog sweep towards deep square leg, but Kasun Rajitha made a complete mess of the catch. If that had been taken, Pakistan may have had a pretty nervy chase towards the end but that was not the case. In the end, they got there with 4 wickets to spare and made this record chase seem pretty easy.

What a game we have had here! The intriguing battle between bat and ball has ensued for five days and Pakistan have come up trumps to take a 1-0 lead in this 2-match Test series. Sri Lanka will be really disappointed as they seemed to be ahead for most of the game but in the end, found themselves on the wrong side of the result.

FOUR! Abdullah Shafique hits the winning runs! A brilliant match winning knock from the young man! Shorter and outside off. Abdullah Shafique gets on the back foot and slaps it to covers for a boundary. Pakistan win by 4 wickets and go 1-0 up in the series.

Tossed up on off, spinning away. Abdullah Shafique looks to sweep but misses.

Shorter and down the leg side, spinning into the batter. Nawaz tries to finish off the match with a big wild sweep but misses.

FOUR! Pakistan are nearly there! Fatter and around leg. Nawaz sweeps it very gently but the outfield helps the ball to race away to the fine leg fence.

Full once again outside off, Mohammad Nawaz knocks this into the cover region.

Flighted full outside off, Mohammad Nawaz fends this to the left of the bowler.

Goes full outside off, Abdullah Shafique taps this towards point and takes a run. Just 6 runs are needed now and Sri Lanka giving away some easy singles

This is a fraction short in line with the stumps, Mohammad Nawaz clips this towards square leg for a single.