Pakistan wins the first Test and beat Sri Lanka by four wickets on the last day of the first Test in Galle, giving them a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. This was thanks to a double century by Saud Shakeel in the first Test. Pakistan started trying to get 131 runs when they were 48-3, and Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq were at the wicket.
Azam hit 24 runs in 28 balls, including five fours, before Prabath Jayasuriya caught him in front of the stumps. Shakeel also couldn’t stay at the spot until the end. He was out after 38 balls and 30 runs. Imam’s 50 runs, which included four fours and a six, were excellent, and he was still not out.
Pakistan wins the first Test thanks to Saud Shakeel
Agha Salman hit a six with the first ball he hit, which helped Pakistan win. Yesterday, in the last practice, Jayasuriya removed two of Pakistan’s top players by removing Abdullah Shafique (8) and Shan Masood (7). While this happened, nightwatchman Nauman Ali tried a dangerous second run and was caught. Sri Lanka’s second innings on day four ended with them being out for 279 runs.
This meant that Pakistan had to score 131 runs to win the match. Pakistan’s best bowlers were Abrar Ahmed and Nauman Ali, who took three wickets and did most of the damage. Shaheen Afridi and Agha Salman each took two doors at the same time. Dhananjaya de Silva, who had a hundred in the first game, scored 82 runs to lead the home team again.
It is important to note that Saud Shakeel got his first double century in Tests. It helped Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 149 runs in the first match, which was rained out. The visitors were bowled out for 461 runs in the last session of day three. This came after a frustrating 94-run partnership between Shakeel, who was still not out with 208 runs, and Naseem Shah, who made six runs off 78 balls.
Spinner Ramesh Mendis got five wickets in the end, but Shakeel worked with the rest of the team, including a 52-run partnership with Nauman Ali, who made 25, at the seventh wicket. But his 177-run collaboration with Agha Salman, who hit 83, brought Pakistan back into the game after they fell to 101-5 in response to Sri Lanka’s 312.