Lankan batsmen place team in great position to win

Kusal Mendis and Oshada Fernando celebrate their half-centuries

Dinesh Chandimal continued his good form scoring his second 50 of the match 

Mohammad Nawaz took a career best five wickets for 88 runs

• Lead by 333 runs with a wicket in hand

Half-centuries from Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal on a difficult Galle International Cricket Stadium pitch has placed Sri Lanka with a great chance of pulling off a win over Pakistan in the first cricket Test yesterday.

By stumps on the third day, Sri Lanka resuming at 36-1, ended strongly on 329-9 with Chandimal once again the thorn in the Pakistan bowling. He followed his first innings knock of 76 with a compelling 86* that has given Sri Lanka an overall lead of 333 going into the fourth day today. 

Batting with Chandimal is No. 11 Prabath Jayasuriya on 4*, and Sri Lanka will look to stretch the lead further with Chandimal only 14 shy of his 14th Test hundred. He has far faced 121 balls and struck two sixes and five fours.

Whichever way you look at it, Pakistan will have to pull off a record chase at Galle if they are to win this Test. The highest successful run chase at this venue is 268 by Sri Lanka against New Zealand in 2019 in the first-ever match of the ICC World Test Championship.

Pakistan has successfully chased 302 at Sharjah and 377 at Pallekele against Sri Lanka and those victories should inspire them when they commence their run chase. There is also Babar Azam whose presence gives Pakistan assurance and hope as he is in immaculate touch like he showed in the first innings where he didn’t put a foot wrong.

With Oshada Fernando contributing 64 off 125 balls (6 fours, 1 six) and Kusal Mendis 76 off 126 balls (9 fours) Pakistan were made to toil all day. The pair put on 91 for the third wicket. Pakistan had their moments when in the afternoon session they picked up five Sri Lankan wickets to have them seven down for 257 after capturing only one wicket in the morning that of nightwatchman Kasun Rajitha for seven.     

But despite left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz capturing his maiden five-fer, the Pakistani bowlers were found wanting in their lines and lengths that were inconsistent. Although they beat the outside edge constantly, Pakistan was guilty of giving away too many loose deliveries and as a result was unable to sustain any strenuous pressure on the Lankan batsmen. 

Fernando and Mendis scored at nearly four and a half an over in the morning with 96 being scored in the first session. Even though the wickets fell, Sri Lanka’s run rate never dwindled as the second session saw 128 runs being plundered and 297 runs being scored in the day with Pakistan being unable to stop the run flow.

Pakistan could have done better with another spinner in the side than a fast bowler. While Sri Lanka went with three frontline spinners, Pakistan opted for three fast bowlers which on this wicket has proved to be a grave mistake as the third quick Naseem Shah bowled only five overs yesterday.   

The dropped return catch by Hasan Ali off Chandimal on 68 will certainly hurt Pakistan. Chandimal has shown in the second Test against Australia as well as in the first innings of this Test how expertly he can bat with the tail. He has already added 94 in partnerships with Ramesh Mendis, Maheesh Theekshana and Jayasuriya. 

“Three of us got runs today but it’s not easy to score. The wicket helps spin a lot. Why we were able to score well was because we played spin well. Tomorrow, I think the wicket will get even better for spinners once you get the roller on,” said Kusal Mendis at the end of the day.

“We have a lead of 333 now and if we get some more runs, I don’t think it will be easy for them to bat here on day four. There were lot of balls that turned like the one I got out. Can’t predict how the ball is going to come at you. 

“We have practiced hard against our leggies so we knew what to expect when it comes to game time from Yasir Shah. We watched lot of videos of him how he performed here. We didn’t want to get tied down against him. We wanted to give respect to good deliveries and score runs off the bad ones.” 

Praising the innings Chandimal has played, Mendis said: “Chandi batted well in the first innings too. He has done what the team needs. He is someone with lot of experience and it gives us a lot of confidence. When he plays like that we can go for our shots.”