On Thursday, opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq produced an unbroken 50 to lead Pakistan to victory over Sri Lanka in their difficult chase of 131 runs to win the first test by four wickets.
The tourists started the final day on 48-3 and lost three more wickets, including their captain Babar Azam for 24 off of Prabath Jayasuriya, before they reached their total in the first session of the day.
Haq began the day on 25 and maintained his composure with Azam and then left-handed partner Saud Shakeel, who struck a quick 30 after his undefeated 208 in Pakistan’s first innings. Haq’s score was 25 when the day began.
Jayasuriya, a left-arm spinner, claimed four wickets, including two on the evening of day four to give the home team a glimmer of hope; however, Haq remained unmoved.
Azam got the day off to a strong start by hitting a boundary off the first ball of play. He continued to appear comfortable throughout his stay of 28 balls until Jayasuriya got him caught lbw.
Shakeel also faced the bowlers, but the off spinner Ramesh Mendis was able to get him caught behind the wicket.
Although Haq was dismissed by Jayasuriya on his way to his seventh fifty in a test match, Agha Salman came out and hit the winning six-run hit.
In Pakistan’s 461 all out and a healthy first-innings lead of 149 in the rain-hit match, Shakeel stood out for scoring his first Test double century. This helped Pakistan take the lead.
Even though Dhananjaya de Silva batted a dogged 82, Pakistani spinners Noman Ali and Abrar Ahmed made their presence felt on Wednesday by taking three wickets apiece and contributing to Pakistan’s bowling victory against Sri Lanka for 279 runs.
After the hosts made the decision to bat first, Sri Lanka scored 312 runs in their first innings, with De Silva contributing 122 of those runs. However, Pakistan quickly assumed control of the situation.
On his first return to Tests since a knee injury forced him out of play a year ago at the same venue, the pace spearhead for Pakistan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, claimed a match haul of five wickets. His performance helped Pakistan win the match.
Monday marks the beginning of the second and final match of the two-match series that will be played in Colombo.