RAWALPINDI: The first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka ended in a draw at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday, after Pakistan declared their second innings at 284 for eight and the two sides agreed to call off the final day without Sri Lanka batting again. The two-match series remains level at 0-0.
Pakistan began the fifth morning on 57 for one, holding a narrow lead, but slipped to 125 for five as Sri Lanka’s bowlers made early inroads. Middle-order batter Saud Shakeel then anchored the recovery with a patient 97 off 210 balls before he was bowled by Lahiru Kumara, three runs short of a hundred. He shared a 92-run stand with Ghazi Ghori, who made 35, and the declaration left Sri Lanka a notional target of 273 with too little time remaining.
Shakeel finished the match with 190 runs, having also scored 93 in the first innings. For Sri Lanka, Milan Rathnayake was the most successful bowler on the last day with three wickets for 47.
Debutant leg-spinner Saqib Khan was named Player of the Match for his seven wickets for 130 in Sri Lanka’s first innings, a spell that included the wickets of both visiting centurions. NEN reported on his breakthrough performance earlier this week.
Background
Pakistan had declared their first innings at 434 for nine. Sri Lanka replied with 446, a lead of just 12, built on a 249-run fourth-wicket partnership between Dhananjaya de Silva, who scored 167, and Kusal Mendis, who made 119, after the visitors had been 65 for three. Sri Lanka then lost their last six wickets for 42 runs on the fourth day as Saqib Khan turned the innings around.
Weather and bad light shaped the result. Play was cut short in every session of the first four days, and 117 of the 360 scheduled overs were lost, close to a third of the match. A further short stoppage for bad light came before lunch on the final day.
What This Means for You
For fans, the draw means the series will be decided in the second and final Test. Pakistan must win that match to take the series, while another draw would leave it shared. Because nearly one in every three overs was lost to poor light in this match, spectators planning to attend the next Test should expect the possibility of early finishes in the evening sessions.
The second Test will be played at the same venue, the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, starting on Tuesday, 17 November.
Sources: Radio Pakistan, Pakistan Observer, Dawn, Aaj News
Featured image: Photo: Neweditorpk / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
