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SL vs PAK | 1st Test Day 5 | Shafique marshals Pakistan to highest-ever chase at Galle; take 1-0 lead

Pakistan chased down a historic 342 against Sri Lanka in the first Test at Galle, to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. It was all Abdullah Shafique, who in his sixth Test marshalled this chase impeccably, which was also the highest-ever at Galle.

This is Pakistan’s second-highest chase in Test cricket, behind 377, which also came against Sri Lanka in 2015 at Pallekele.

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Shafique drops anchor

Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan played out the first hour on Day 5 without much difficulty.

Rizwan, in particular, latched on to any available run, ensuring they never got pressurized.

And Maheesh Theekshana's finger injury hampered Sri Lanka even more, which saw a lot of part-timers being asked to bowl. But, against the run of play, Prabath Jayasuriya got the better of Rizwan, who made 40, thus ending his 71-run stand with Shafique.

With Pakistan needing 66 runs to win, Agha Salman came out to bat. He and Shafique cut down the visitors’ target below the fifty-run mark.

Jayasuriya, on the other hand, kept his side in the hunt, picking Salman’s wicket at the stroke of lunch as Shafique remained unbeaten on 139*.

A mouth-watering finish 

Hasan Ali lasted four balls in the post-lunch session, falling to Dhananjaya de Silva after hitting a boundary. Mohammad Nawaz joined Shafique in the middle, with Pakistan still 39 runs away from a win.


Shafique went past 150 runs from 391 deliveries, inching his side ever so close to victory.

The duo slowly chipped away the remaining runs, before rain halted play with Pakistan 11 runs away from victory.

However, after an hour’s break, he (160*) and Nawaz (19*) added 39 runs together helping their side win the match by four wickets and gain a 1-0 lead over the Lions.

Brief Scores:


Sri Lanka 222 all-out (66.1 overs)
Dinesh Chandimal 76, Maheesh Theekshana 38; 
Shaheen Afridi 4/58

Pakistan 218 all-out (90.5 overs)

Babar Azam 119, Mohammad Rizwan 19; 

Prabath Jayasuriya 5/82

Sri Lanka 337 all-out (100 overs) 
Dinesh Chandimal 94*, Kusal Mendis 76; 

Mohammad Nawaz 5/88


Pakistan 344 for 6 (127.2 overs)  
Abdullah Shafique 160*, Babar Azam 55 ; 
Prabath Jayasuriya 4/135 

Pakistan won by four wickets 

READ: Stokes' retirement is a wake-up call for England: Buttler

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