Sri Lanka removed Pakistan’s openers early to gain an upper hand on the second day of the third and final Test against Pakistan at Sharjah Cricket Stadium in the United Arab Emirates yesterday.
Sri Lanka, seeking a series-leveling win after losing the second Test by nine wickets in Dubai, removed Mohammad Hafeez (6) and Taufiq Umar (19) as Pakistan closed on 35-2 in reply to their rivals’ first innings total of 413.
The first Test in Abu Dhabi ended as a draw.
Photo: AFP
Pakistan looked shaky from the start as Hafeez was dismissed in the fifth over of the innings, edging an outgoing delivery from left-arm paceman Chanaka Welegedara to slip for Mahela Jayawardene to take a simple catch.
Left-arm spinner Rangana then struck in his third over, inducing Umar to come out of the crease and had him stumped by wicketkeeper Kaushal Silva, much to the disappointment of a holiday crowd of near 8,000 made up of Pakistan expats.
At the close, Azhar was unbeaten on 10 and Younis Khan had yet to get off the mark, as Pakistan still trail by 378 runs.
Earlier, Saeed Ajmal led Pakistan’s fightback with 4-132 after Sri Lanka, well placed at 300-3, lost five wickets in the space of 59 runs, before they were guided past 400 by a ninth-wicket stand of 54 between Silva (39) and Herath 34 not out.
Umar Gul ably supported Ajmal with 3-76, but late additions to the Sri Lanka total frustrated Pakistan, who had the upper hand in the first two sessions.
Pakistan knew they had to remove Sangakkara to make inroads into the Sri Lanka middle-order after they dismissed Angelo Mathews for 17 in the last over before lunch, caught behind off left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman.
It was Ajmal who finally provided Pakistan with the prized wicket of the stylish left-hander when his delivery jumped on Sangakkara, who failed to keep a pull down and was caught in the slip by Younis Khan after making 144.
Sangakkara hit 13 fours and two sixes during his 344-ball knock, which began in the first over of the match on Thursday. This was his second century of the series following an epic match-saving 211 in Abu Dhabi.
Sangakkara put on 84 for the third wicket with Jayawardene (39) and another 39 with Mathews for the fourth after Sri Lanka resumed at 245-2.
Jayawardene managed to add just seven to his overnight score of 32 before being given LBW off paceman Khan. Jayawardene hit two boundaries during his highest score of the series.
Sangakkara and Mathews negotiated Pakistan’s pace-spin attack with confidence, taking Sri Lanka past the 300-mark in the penultimate over before lunch.
However, Pakistan struck in the last over before lunch as they got the second wicket in the session, with Sri Lanka managing 55 runs in two hours.
Ajmal also dismissed debutant Kosala Kulasekara, LBW for 15, while Gul struck to remove Suraj Randiv for 1.
Ajmal finally broke the ninth-wicket stand by dismissing Silva, while Gul wrapped up the innings when he bowled Welegedara for a duck.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
RSS