Pakistan have registered a thumping victory over hosts Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the first Test match of the three-match series at Galle on Sunday.
Yasir Shah single-handedly broke the backbone of the Sri Lankan line-up in the second innings on Day 5. Shah picked up seven wickets in his 30 overs that he bowled and gave away just 76 runs.
Earlier, Asad Shafiq slammed his seventh Test century against the hosts at Galle. His partnership with wicket-keeper batsman Sarfraz Ahmed propelled Pakistan to a score of 417 runs, which helped the visitors to take a lead of 117 runs. Ahmed missed out on his century, but his knock of 96 runs came in quick time. He did not allow any Lankan bowlers to settle down. Shafiq and Ahmed added 139 runs in tandem before the latter was dismissed by Dilruwan Perera.
It was not over for Pakistan yet as the tail-enders chipped in with some more runs. Zulfiqur Babar scored a brilliant half-century towards the end taking Pakistan to a total of 417 runs.
When Sri Lankan batsmen came out to bat in the second innings, it looked obvious that the Pakistani bowlers were troubling them right from the start. Apart from Dimuth Karunaratne, who was the highest scorer for the hosts (79 runs), none of the batsmen could really put together a good show.
As a result, the Lankan side kept on losing wickets at regular intervals. Shah proved to be a menace and caught the hosts in the rusty front. Eventually, Sri Lanka were bundled for just 206 runs in their second innings giving Pakistan a target of 90 runs.
Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad came out to open the innings and their intentions were quiet clear. They took on the Sri Lankan bowling attack right from the first over by Rangana Herath, who could not make any impact in the 1st Test.
Hafeez and Shehzad finished things off for Pakistan in just 11.2 overs, thereby trouncing the hosts by a margin of 10 wickets. The visitors have achieved this feat because of their all-round efforts and they would look to continue with this momentum in their upcoming matches as well.
Scores:
Sri Lanka 300 (Kaushal Silva 125, Kumar Sangakkara 50; Wahab Riaz 3 for 74, Zulfiqar Babar 3 for 64) & 206 (Dimuth Karunaratne 79, Lahiru Thirimanne 44; Wahab Riaz 2 for 46, Yasir Shah 7 for 76)
Pakistan 417 (Asad Shafiq 131, Sarfraz Ahmed 96, Zulfiqar Babar 56; Dhammika Prasad 3 for 91, Dilruwan Perera 4 for 122) & 90 for 0 (Mohammad Hafeez 46*, Ahmed Shehzad 43*; Dhammika Prasad 0 for 10).
