Sri Lanka in driving seat as spinners take control

Hero of the first Test Shafique Abdullah is castled by Asitha Fernando for a second ball duck

Agha Salman held the Pakistan innings together with a solid half-century

Sri Lanka fielders cannot hide their delight as Pakistan captain Babar Azam is bowled for 16

• Second Test at Galle International Cricket Stadium 

Niroshan Dickwella celebrates his 22nd Test fifty

Sri Lanka put themselves in control of the second cricket Test when they captured seven Pakistan wickets for 191 runs after making a first innings score of 378 at the Galle International Cricket Stadium yesterday.

It was the Lankan spinners Ramesh Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya who put the skids under the Pakistan batting, capturing five of the wickets to fall between them. With part time spinner Dhananjaya de Silva also chipping in with the wicket of Imam-ul-Haq for 32, it was a day where the Lankan spinners took control of the game.

Pakistan still trail Sri Lanka by 187 runs with three wickets in hand and have an overwhelming task to bridge the gap between the two teams before the wicket begins to deteriorate going into the third day today. It is still good enough to bat on and a handy first innings lead would place Sri Lanka in a strong position to press for a win and square the two-Test series.

Pakistan’s troubles began from the very outset when off the second ball of their innings Asitha Fernando found the inside edge of Abdullah Shafique’s bat and bowled him for a duck. Shafique was Pakistan’s hero in their four-wicket win in the first Test with a monumental knock of 160*.

From there onwards Pakistan’s innings never seemed to gain any momentum and wickets fell at regular intervals as the Lankan spinners began to make inroads into their batting. The dismissal of their captain Babar Azam, a centurion in the first Test was a bitter blow. He too was dismissed playing onto his stumps, giving Jayasuriya his first wicket.

Then Mendis who had not been consistent with his lines and lengths in the last Test got into the act with the wickets of Mohammad Rizwan and Fawad Alam both falling leg before wicket for 24 apiece. When Mendis accounted for Mohamed Nawaz’s wicket for 12, under edging a catch behind the wicket, Pakistan was in dire trouble at 145-6, still 233 behind.

But Agha Salman whose inclusion in the side that has raised many eyebrows and Yasir Shah who has a Test hundred against his name against Australia put up unexpected resistance, figuring in a stand of 46 for the seventh wicket. They looked like taking Pakistan safely to the close when De Silva acting as captain on behalf of Dimuth Karunaratne suddenly switched from the pace of Fernando and brought on Jayasuriya to bowl the penultimate over of the day. 

The left-arm spinner obliged his skipper by removing the obdurate Salman for 62 when he edged a delivery straight into De Silva’s hands at slip bringing to an end a 126-ball defiance for his maiden Test 50. 

Yasir unbeaten on 13 after 85 minutes at the wicket will have the tail to get as many runs as possible before the innings terminates, while Sri Lanka will look to wrap up the innings as quick as possible giving themselves a substantial first innings lead from which to set a stiff target to give their bowlers enough attacking options in the fourth innings.

A question mark still hangs whether Karunaratne will be fit to bat in the Lankan second innings. He did not take the field during the Pakistan innings and a Sri Lanka Cricket media release stated that Karunaratne has a lower back pain for which he is being treated. Sri Lanka resuming at 315-6 added 63 to their overnight total with Dickwella moving to his 22nd Test half-century off 52 balls with six fours and a six and Mendis contributing a brisk 35 off 52 balls (4 fours, 1 six) before they were all out 33 minutes to lunch. Naseem Shah and Yasir Shah took the remaining Lankan wickets to finish with three apiece.   Throughout his innings Dickwella for once did not play the reverse sweep which had more or less led to his downfall. “It was a good wicket so I thought no point of playing the reverse sweep on day one and two. That’s my strength. I played well yesterday. Our plan was to get 380. Unfortunately, I got out after getting a half-century so it didn’t happen. Just wanted to play the ball on its merit,” said Dickwella at the end of the day.

“The selectors, coaches and captain believe in me that I provide runs when it is most needed. They have given me the license to play my natural game. They back me. This is the way I bat. When I score runs, I get them quickly as well. I have not contributed in the last couple of series, but I have come up with crucial runs when needed. I am batting at number seven. But that’s not excuse for not getting a Test hundred. But I guess I have contributed to the team.”

“This is a good wicket for day two. Our bowlers bowled really well and that’s why we were able to get to seven wickets today. Tomorrow it will be a good wicket to bat on.”

Salman expressing his disappointment at getting out in the penultimate over said: “The way the partnership was going, we wanted to see off the day and come back tomorrow to start afresh. But it’s cricket and it happens in the sport. Disappointed, but still, we have enough batting who can utilise the situation and add to the total.” “Today’s pitch was playing better than the last match’s pitch. They were bowling well to be very honest and they were not giving runs that’s why they took the wickets. They were playing patient games and we lacked that. I think the pitch is playing alright. It will start turning eventually but at the moment it’s alright.”