First Test tantalizingly poised

Rex Clementine in Galle

Galle over the years has produced some sensational Test matches and we are in for another closely fought game as the first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka is tantalizingly poised. The final day’s play today will begin with Pakistan needing 120 runs to win to go 1-0 up in the series while Sri Lanka require seven wickets.

When first innings centurion Babar Azam added 101 runs for the third wicket with Shafique, the game looked to have got away from Sri Lanka and when they desperately needed a wicket, Prabath Jayasuriya provided the breakthrough by going through the defenses of Pakistan’s captain.

Jayasuriya got one ball to pitch on the rough outside the leg-stump and it spun sharply and clipped the top of off-stump bowling the batsman around his leg.

It was a much needed breakthrough for Sri Lanka but they’ll need a lot more of magic like that to seal the game. One advantage they have is that Pakistan do have a longish tail. But before getting there, they need to see the back of opening batsman Abdullah Shafique, who came up with a terrific hundred.

The 22-year-old was lucky to survive a leg before wicket shout when he was on four but from that moment on, he rarely put a foot wrong. Shafique was involved in an 87 run stand for the first wicket with Imam-ul-Haq that laid the foundation for Pakistan’s run chase.

It was only the second hundred for Shafique and for someone who is playing his sixth Test match, he showed excellent temperament coming up with a fourth innings hundred.

Shafique was unbeaten on 112 having batted for almost six hours in which he faced 287 deliveries. There were just five fours and a six in his innings.

The pitch that had caused havoc earlier on in the game with prodigious turn had eased out with not much bounce and the spinners proved to be ineffective forcing skipper Dimuth Karunaratne to spread the field and protect the boundaries. Pakistan were happy to pick up the singles with plenty of time left in the game.

The day started with Sri Lanka on 329 for nine and all eyes were on Dinesh Chandimal. The former captain was unbeaten on 86 overnight but was unable to get to his hundred as he was left stranded on 94 when last man Prabath Jayasuriya was knocked off by Naseem Shah. Sri Lanka had faced four overs in the morning and had added eight runs.