It was a great day for the Pakistani team as they are just 3 wickets away from a win on the 4th day of 2nd Test match played at National Stadium, Karachi on Sunday.
Starting on the overnight score of 395 for 2, Azhar Ali and Babar Azam continued their aggressive intent against the Sri Lanka bowlers. Babar completed his fifty off just 81 balls while Pakistani captain Azhar Ali led from scoring his century off 142 balls. In attempt to score quick runs, Azhar Ali was stumped for a brilliant 118. Azhar and Babar added 148 runs for the 3rd wicket. Mohammad Rizwan came to the crease and scored a quick fire 21. Babar reached his century off 131 balls which helped Pakistan declare their innings on 555 for 3 at lunch.
After the lunch break, Sri Lankan openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Oshando Fernando played with positive intent putting pressure on Pakistan bowlers. Mohammad Abbas provided the breakthrough dismissing Sri Lankan captain Karunaratne for 16. Sri Lankan openers added 39 runs. Soon after, Naseem Shah got the 2nd wicket getting Kusal Mendis with a good catch by Babar Azam at third slips. Fernando looked impressive with his stroke play and made the batting look easy. Shaheen Shah Afridi produced a beauty to dismiss Angelo Mathews cheaply. At the end of 2nd session, Sri Lanka were struggling at 86 for 3.
It was a superb start for the Pakistani team in the 3rd session as Naseem Shah produced a beauty to dismiss Dinesh Chandimal. The umpire gave it not out and on review, the umpire decided to give out. Dhanjaya de Silva was dismissed cheaply for 0. Niroshan Dickwella came to the crease and played his natural game. Fernando reached his fifty off 78 balls. Dickwella and Fernando impressed with their stroke play trying to put Pakistani bowlers under pressure. The left-handed Dickwella played dangerous strokes against Yasir Shah. Dickwella reached his fifty off just 57 balls and soon after was dismissed by Haris Sohail for 65. Dickwella and Fernando added 104 runs for the 6th wicket. Fernando was the only batsman to provide any resistance by reaching his century off 172 balls. At the stroke of close of play, Naseem Shah dismissed Dilwuran Perera. Sri Lanka ended the 4th day on 212 for 7.
Pakistan 191 in 59.3 overs ( Asad Shafiq 63, Babar Azam 60, Lahiru Kumara 4/49, Lasith Embuldenya 4/71) and 555 for 3 in 131 overs ( Abid Ali 174, Shan Masood 135, Azhar Ali 118, Babar Azam 100* , Lahiru Kumara 2/139, Lasith Emudelnya 1/193 ) lead Sri Lanka 271 in 85.5 overs ( Dinesh Chandimal 74, Diluwran Perera 48, Dimuth Karunaratne 25, Mohammad Abbas 4/55, Shaheen Shah Afridi 5/77) and 212 for 7 in 60.1 overs ( Fernando 102*, Dickwella 65, Naseem Shah 3/31)
Sri Lanka require 264 runs to win with 3 wickets in hand.
