Match Details
Mohammad Rizwan and Agha Salman resumed the play for Pakistan on Day 4 and played with positive intent. Rizwan, who was 37* overnight, cut loose and brought out a cluster of sweeps against Prabath Jayasuriya in the second over of the day. Rizwan aggregated his 8th half-century in Test cricket and the 100-run partnership between the duo was also completed in the process. Both the right-handers aided Pakistan to register a formidable lead of 410 before Babar Azam declared the innings after batting for just two overs on Day 4.
Dimuth Karunaratne was resilient and negated the new ball well by rotating the strike. Nishan Madushka, on the other hand, looked tentative and was beaten on the outside edge on many occasions before the right-hander went into a counterattacking mode and adjusted to the conditions. The left-right opening pair was dictating the play splendidly but Noman Ali broke the 69-run opening stand with a dream delivery to uproot Madushka 33(72). It was an impressive session for Sri Lanka nonetheless as they added 81 runs to their tally.
Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis recommenced the play in the afternoon session but they failed to carry the momentum forward. Noman Ali started to grip the ball and wreaked havoc as the Sri Lankan innings went haywire. Imam-ul-Haq took a blinder at short leg off Noman to dismiss the Sri Lankan skipper for 41(61). Kusal Mendis was looking well-organized before the right-hander threw his wicket away attempting a lofted drive. Naseem Shah also discovered some reverse-swing and flustered the Sri Lankan batters.
The runs were hard to get by on a much drier surface and the hosts kept gifting wickets to their opposition. Dinesh Chandimal threw his wicket away at 1(11) while attempting a pre-meditated paddle sweep. Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva did some repair work and survived 81 deliveries but Noman Ali once again had the last laugh as Dhananjaya 10(38) holed out in the deep. That was also the fifth wicket for the left-arm spinner. Sadeera Samarawickrama 5(11) was the next batter to walk back as Sri Lanka lost as many as 5 wickets in the afternoon session.
Mathews was trapped lbw in the first over of the last session but the decision was overturned after a successful review from the right-hander. Ramesh Mendis joined forces with the experienced campaigner and offered some respite. The Pakistan bowlers toiled hard to break that partnership. As many as three reviews were taken in the 62nd over, but none of them went in Pakistan’s favour. Ramesh and Mathews added 36 runs for the 7th wicket and just when the visitors were starting to look discomposed, Ramesh 16(42) decided to step out of the crease and gift another wicket to the visitors.
Mathews 63*(127) kept pegging away and notched up his 40th half-century in Test cricket but always lacked support from the other end. Naseem Shah (3/44) bowled tight lines with good pace and ripped through the tail. Noman Ali was the standout performer with the ball in the second innings. The left-arm spinner mixed his pace well and finish with exceptional figures of 7/70 in 23 overs.
So, a historic victory for Pakistan at Sinhalese Sports Club and they've started their World Test Championship 2025 campaign on a blistering note. Sri Lanka will have to go back to the drawing board once again and re-assess their strategies. Stick around for the post-match presentation!