A powerful spell by Pakistani bowlers devastated Sri Lanka batting as the hosts were dismissed for 166 on day first of second and final Test of the two-match Test series at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo on Monday.
Three wickets haul by Naseem Shah and four wickets by Abrar Ahmed put the team green in command as the Sri Lanka batters seemed helpless while facing the splended bowling.
Before launch, Naseem Shah had removed two players while Shaheen Shah Afridi grabbed one which and another Sri Lankan player was run out for 79 before lunch.
At that point, Dinesh Chandimal and Dhannanjya de Silva rebuild Sri Lanka’s innings before Naseem broke part their partnership by dismissing Chandimal (34).
After the launch break, De Silva, who smashed 57 runs to help team recover from early losses, was sent to packing by Abrar Ahmed. He also removed Mendis and Fernando to restrict the hosts to 166 runs.
Earlier, Sri Lanka won the toss and decided to bat first. The Team Green eyes clean sweep as it leads the series 1-0 after spending victory in the first Test at Galle International Stadium. Babar Azam said victory in first match had boosted the team’s moral, adding: “We will try to dismiss Sri Lanka early”. He said there was no change in squad for the second Test.
Last week, Pakistan got off to a winning start in the new cycle of the ICC World Test Championship after beating Sri Lanka by four wickets on day five of the first Test.
Resuming their second innings at the overnight score of 48 for three with 83 runs to win, Babar struck two boundaries in the first over of the morning to make his intentions clear. He went on to score two more boundaries before getting adjudged leg-before wicket to Prabath Jayasuriya for 24 off 28 balls, hitting five fours.
At 79 for four, opening batter Imam-ul-Haq was joined by Saud Shakeel, the double centurion from the first innings, and the pair knitted a 43-run partnership for the fifth wicket before Saud (30, 38b, 6x4s) fell to Ramesh Mendis in the 30th over of the innings.
With five runs to win, Pakistan lost Sarfaraz Ahmed (1, 10b). Salman Ali Agha then came to the crease and finished the match in style by hitting a huge six off the first ball he faced, helping the team win by four wickets.
Imam returned unbeaten on 50 off 84 balls, smashing four fours and one six.
For Sri Lanka, Jayasuriya bagged four wickets in the second innings and ended up taking seven wickets in the match.
