1
0
4
W
0
0
= 5
Match Details
PAK vs SL 1st TEST, SL vs PAK 2023
PAK 461(121.2)
133-632.5
Pakistan won by 4 wickets 🏆
312(95.2)
SL
83.1279-10
+
Commentary
All
Highlights
Overs
W
6s
4s
Inn 1
Inn 2
Inn 3
Inn 4
Milestone
So, that's it from this intriguing Test match where Pakistan have gone 1-0 ahead in this 2-match series. Both teams will head off to Colombo now at the SSC for the next Test starting on the 24th of July i.e. Monday. Do join us for that game and stick around to our network for all other cricketing actions across the globe across formats.
For now, this is Ayan Chatterjee signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Deepak Prakash alongside scorer/analyst Ghanendra Singh Thakur. Stay safe, happy, and cool. Goodbye and CHEERS!
For now, this is Ayan Chatterjee signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Deepak Prakash alongside scorer/analyst Ghanendra Singh Thakur. Stay safe, happy, and cool. Goodbye and CHEERS!
Babar Azam (Pakistan Captain): "Definitely, when we win the match we gain confidence, all credit to the boys they played well. Of course, we lost early wickets but the way Salman and Saud played totally changed the game. You need that kind of partnership, and as a captain, I am very satisfied with their performance. It's not easy to bat in Galle, but the way Saud is playing is outstanding, and I wish him luck for the next game."
Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka Captain): "I think we won the toss and we needed to bat well but lost early wickets. We should have contributed more in the first innings. As a top order batter, we needed to contribute more. Of course, we wanted them to be a tighter. We bowled well in patches and need to improve. Bowling was good but fielding let us down and catches win matches. We need to improve on certain areas and hope to come back stronger. I think Dhananjaya batted well and took responsibility of the innings and we need to learn from them how to build and construct an innings."
Saud Shakeel (Player of the Match): "I was simple with my plans just to be there in the middle and try to be positive. I played the sweep shot and reverse sweep and it worked for me. Basically, I am from Karachi so I am used to playing spinners. The amount of hard work I have done on spinners has paid off."
11:17 AM IST & Local Time: It's time for the post-match presentation.
11:06 AM IST and Local Time: Agha Salman finishes things off in style as Pakistan wins this first Test match by 4 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the 2-match series. Imam-ul-Haq anchored the chase and despite a few hiccups they got over the line. They were the better side throughout in all facets of the game and deserved the win in the end. They garner 12 WTC points as well to kick their campaign off in style.
Let's recap the Test match for all of you in case you missed it. It was Sri Lanka who won the toss and decided to bat first. But they lost wickets at regular intervals. Dhananjaya de Silva stepped up alongside Angelo Mathews with the former scoring a magnificent 122 and Mathews scoring 64. Sadeera chipped in with 36 as Sri Lanka ended with 312 in 95.2 overs. The wickets were shared by the Pakistani bowlers. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed picked up 3 wickets apiece while Agha Salman picked up the other wicket to fall.
In reply. Pakistan were in early trouble being reduced to 101/5 at one stage. But they were rescued by a majestic innings from Saud Shakeel as he remained unbeaten on a magical 208* off 361 balls his maiden Test double ton. Agha Salman played his part and scored 83 while Shan Masood scored a quickfire 39 off 30 balls at the top order. Nauman Ali chipped in with 25 as well and so did the lower order who hung in there. Ramesh Mendis picked up 5 wickets while Prabath Jayasuriya picked up 3 wickets. Vishwa Fernando and Kasun Rajitha picked up a wicket apiece.
Faced with a deficit of 149 runs, Sri Lanka felt the pressure. Nishan Madushka scored 52 while Dhananajaya de Silva stepped up again with his 82 off 118 balls. Ramesh Mendis scored 42 while there were a few 20s here and there. Sri Lanka could manage only 279 in 83.1 overs. The wickets were shared once again by the Pakistan bowlers. The spinners Abrar Ahmed and Nauman Ali got 3 wickets apiece. Shaheen Shah Afridi got a couple of wickets while Agha Salman got a valuable two wickets to his name as well while Naseem Shah went wicketless.
In pursuit of 131 for the win, Pakistan rode on Imam-ul-Haq's unbeaten 50* off 84 balls to get over the line. Skipper Babar Azam chipped in with 24 quick runs and Saud Shakeel scored 30 off 38 balls. They lost a few wickets in the end, but they got over the line in the end.
Faced with a little score to defend, Sri Lanka tried hard but came up short. Prabath Jayasuriya was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka with 4 wickets for 56 runs in 14.5 overs. The other wicket was taken by Ramesh Mendis who was very expensive to say the least. There was a run out of Nauman Ali as well. The Lankans tried hard, but were second best to the better team on paper and performance.
So, Pakistan wins this game by 4 wickets to get a 1-0 lead in the 2-match series and garner crucial 12 WTC points in the points table. Stick around for the presentation ceremony that comes your way soon.
Let's recap the Test match for all of you in case you missed it. It was Sri Lanka who won the toss and decided to bat first. But they lost wickets at regular intervals. Dhananjaya de Silva stepped up alongside Angelo Mathews with the former scoring a magnificent 122 and Mathews scoring 64. Sadeera chipped in with 36 as Sri Lanka ended with 312 in 95.2 overs. The wickets were shared by the Pakistani bowlers. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed picked up 3 wickets apiece while Agha Salman picked up the other wicket to fall.
In reply. Pakistan were in early trouble being reduced to 101/5 at one stage. But they were rescued by a majestic innings from Saud Shakeel as he remained unbeaten on a magical 208* off 361 balls his maiden Test double ton. Agha Salman played his part and scored 83 while Shan Masood scored a quickfire 39 off 30 balls at the top order. Nauman Ali chipped in with 25 as well and so did the lower order who hung in there. Ramesh Mendis picked up 5 wickets while Prabath Jayasuriya picked up 3 wickets. Vishwa Fernando and Kasun Rajitha picked up a wicket apiece.
Faced with a deficit of 149 runs, Sri Lanka felt the pressure. Nishan Madushka scored 52 while Dhananajaya de Silva stepped up again with his 82 off 118 balls. Ramesh Mendis scored 42 while there were a few 20s here and there. Sri Lanka could manage only 279 in 83.1 overs. The wickets were shared once again by the Pakistan bowlers. The spinners Abrar Ahmed and Nauman Ali got 3 wickets apiece. Shaheen Shah Afridi got a couple of wickets while Agha Salman got a valuable two wickets to his name as well while Naseem Shah went wicketless.
In pursuit of 131 for the win, Pakistan rode on Imam-ul-Haq's unbeaten 50* off 84 balls to get over the line. Skipper Babar Azam chipped in with 24 quick runs and Saud Shakeel scored 30 off 38 balls. They lost a few wickets in the end, but they got over the line in the end.
Faced with a little score to defend, Sri Lanka tried hard but came up short. Prabath Jayasuriya was the pick of the bowlers for Sri Lanka with 4 wickets for 56 runs in 14.5 overs. The other wicket was taken by Ramesh Mendis who was very expensive to say the least. There was a run out of Nauman Ali as well. The Lankans tried hard, but were second best to the better team on paper and performance.
So, Pakistan wins this game by 4 wickets to get a 1-0 lead in the 2-match series and garner crucial 12 WTC points in the points table. Stick around for the presentation ceremony that comes your way soon.
Deepak: This is Pakistan's first Test win in the last 365 days. They won the last Test match in Galle on July 20, 2022.
32.5 P Jayasuriya to A Salman
6 SIX! Salman Agha finishes things off in style! Tosses it up here, Salman comes down the track to get to the pitch of the ball and loft it over the long-off stands as the ball sails over the fence for the maximum. So, Pakistan win this game by 4 wickets to go 1-0 up in this 2-Test series.
Agha Salman walks in at number 8.
32.4 P Jayasuriya to S Ahmed
W WICKET! Flighted delivery, Sarfaraz plays the sweep shot and gets a top edge that goes straight up in the air and into the hands of the deep square leg fielder. Mendis does well to hold on here as the keeper departs here. 6 down now with 4 runs still to get.
32.3 P Jayasuriya to S Ahmed
0 Fuller length again, Sarfaraz uses his feet and drives it back to the bowler.
32.2 P Jayasuriya to S Ahmed
0 Fuller length, uses his feet to the diving short mid-off fielder.
32.1 P Jayasuriya to S Ahmed
0 Fuller length on the pads, Sarfaraz plays the sweep shot and the fielder at short leg does well here.
OVER 32
Pakistan
127/5
Imam-ul-Haq
50(84)
Sarfaraz Ahmed
1(6)
Ramesh Mendis
1-62(14.0)
Commentary