Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Day 3, Review: Hosts hit back with five wickets after conceding a lead of 220 runs

The second Test match has been tantalisingly poised as Pakistan made a stunning comeback in the final hour of the third day. The hosts were skittled out for 262 in their first innings in the pursuit of 482 as Dinesh Chandimal decided to bat again and didn’t enforce the follow-on. But the bowlers led by Wahab Riaz wreaked havoc in the opposition line-up and kept their hopes of levelling the series alive. Sri Lanka squandered the winning position and at stumps, the scoreboard read 34/5.

Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva strode out to the middle in order to extend the lead for their side. But the seamers made full use of the brand new pink ball under lights and made the ball talk by pitching it in right areas. Mohammad Abbas bowled a peach of a delivery which angled in and moved pretty late as Silva had to play at it only to get the faint edge to the wicketkeeper. Soon Karunaratne followed by once again chopping onto the stumps while trying to cut the ball which was close to his body off Wahab Riaz who was bowling his first ball of the innings.

The procession continued as Wahab found his line at the right time for Pakistan and Sadeera Samarawickrama was sent back to the hut. The night watchman Suranga Lakmal was also dismissed by the leggie, Yasir Shah. The matters went worse for Sri Lanka when the skipper and their best batsman was pinned in front of the stumps which eventually proved to be the final ball of the day.

Sri Lanka bowlers own the first session

Earlier in the morning, the overnight batsmen Shan Masood and Sami Aslam came out to continue their good work. But their hopes were shattered as Lahiru Gamage castled the former first and then in the next Dilruwan Perera pinned Aslam in front of the stumps. The poor series for Asad Shafiq and Babar Azam continued and the scoreboard read a dreadful 109/4 just before lunch. The four bowlers had struck in the session and the captain looked extremely pleased of his bowlers.

Pakistan collapse again

After lunch, Azhar Ali, the best batsman in the line-up and Haris Sohail formed a rearguard act and denied Sri Lanka a wicket for a long time. Both concentrated well as runs were hard to come by and reached their respective half-centuries which gave respite for their team. The hopes were again high but then the wily old fox Herath struck and removed Ali. He scored 59 runs and hit 6 boundaries in his knock. Soon Sarfraz Ahmed and Sohail were snapped up by Dilruwan Perera to reduce them to 214/7 as they stared at a huge deficit.

Yasir Shah, the hero with the ball, scored some quick runs lower down the order and reduced the lead. He was well supported by Wahab Riaz as they added a vital 30 runs for the ninth wicket. Eventually, Pakistan were bowled out for a meagre total of 262 as all the bowlers except Nuwan Pradeep were amongst wickets. While the spin duo of Herath and Perera scalped three each, the pace bowlers Suranga Lakmal and Lahiru Gamage contributed with four wickets between them.

Pakistan would hope to bundle Sri Lanka out early on the fourth day and chase the required total to stage a remarkable come from behind victory. Though the visitors have their noses ahead and only one partnership could take the game away from Sarfraz and his men. The fourth day might produce the result as 15 wickets fell on day three which brought the game in balance somewhat for Pakistan.

Brief Scores

Sri Lanka 482/10 (D Karunaratne 196; Y Shah 6/184) & 34/5 (W Riaz 3/10)

Pakistan 262 (A Ali 59; D Perera 3/72)