Sri Lanka are right on the top at the end of play on Day 4 against Pakistan in the second Test at P Sara Oval in Colombo. The final session of the day's play was washed out by rain. The play is scheduled to start 15 minutes early on Monday.
Pakistan began Day 4 really well as Younis Khan and Azhar Ali were still at the crease. However, Younis was dismissed by Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews at 40. Misbah ul Haq also did not get going after a decent start. He was dismissed by Dhammika Prasad and suddenly Pakistan were struggling at 234 for the loss of four wickets.
Asad Shafiq showed some resistance after that but he too was dismissed in the 20s by Dushmantha Chameera.
Amidst all this, Azhar Ali stayed put at one end but kept on losing partners at the other. Ali went on to score his ninth Test century, but he too was foxed by Rangana Herath by a flighted delivery and he was stumped by Dinesh Chandimal. It was unnecessary at that point of the game when his team needed him stay put at the crease for a long.
Then the floodgates opened and Pakistan lost their last six wickets for just 28 runs. They could only manage a lead of 152 runs. Sri Lanka bounced back strongly after the defeat in the first Test. Now they have a good opportunity to win the Test on Day 5 and square the series.
One would have thought that Sri Lanka cannot win on this field as they have lost their last three Tests on the ground. But the bowlers did a good job to bring Sri Lanka back into the game. It will not be that difficult for the hosts to get those runs quickly, provided the rain gods show some mercy. Pakistan on the other hand will have to bowl out of their skin to save or win this match.
Brief Scores:
Pakistan 138 (Mohammad Hafeez 42, Azhar Ali 26; Dhammika Prasad 3 for 43, Tharindu Kaushal 5 for 42) & 329 (Ahmed Shehzad 69, Azhar Ali 117, Younis Khan 40; Dhammika Prasad 4 for 84, Dushmantha Chameera 3 for 53); Sri Lanka 315 (Kaushal Silva 80, Kumar Sangakkara 34, Angelo Mathews 77; Yasir Shah 6 for 96).
Where to Watch Live:
Day 5 of the second Test match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at P Sara Oval in Colombo is scheduled for 10am local time (10am IST, 5am BST, 4am GMT) start with live coverage in India and Sri Lanka on Ten Cricket and Ten HD. The live streaming option will be available on Tensports.com.
Cricket fans in Pakistan can stream the match live on GeoSuperTv.
Viewers in the US can watch the match live on Willow TV and stream the game on Willow TV Online.
