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Sri Lanka vs Pakistan 1st Test Day 4 Highlights: Abdullah Shafique`s century puts Pakistan on top
Check highlights of Sri Lanka vs Pakistan 1st Test, Day 4 at Galle on Tuesday (July 19).
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DAY 4 STUMPS
Abdullah Shafique remained unbeaten for 112 to put Pakistan in a solid position as the visitors need 120 runs on the fifth and final day to win the match, while Sri Lanka have an uphill task of picking seven wickets to win the game. Having set a target of 342 runs, Pakistan scored 222/3 on Day 4. For the hosts, Prabath Jayasuriya bagged 2 wickets, while Ramesh Mendis picked a wicket.
OUT!
Babar Azam departs after scoring half-century. Pakistan skipper has been castled by Prabath Jayasuriya. The visitors are three down now.
Century for Abdullah Shafique
Abdullah Shafique completes his century and it's his second in Test cricket. This ton has definitely put Pakistan on the front foot as they are now just 145 runs away from the win.
Pakistan on top
Abdullah Shafique has put Pakistan in a commanding position as he has scored 80 runs so far and that too in just 50 balls. Till now, the visitors have lost just two wickets - Imam-ul-Haq (35) and Azhar Ali (6). Pakistan skipper Babar Azam is on the crease and he is playing sensibly as the visitors still need 188 runs to win the match.
Pakistan start their chase on a solid note
Pakistan openers Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Shafique give a brilliant start to their team as they complete a fifty-run partnership and that too in just 17 overs. Both the batters are playing swiftly but carefully as Pakistan aim to chase a 342-run target for victory.
Sri Lanka set 342-run target for Pakistan
Sri Lanka added just 8 runs today and the target for Pakistan is 342. Dinesh Chandimal remained unbeaten for 92, while Prabath Jayasuriya, who was the last wicket to fall for the hosts, was bowled by Naseem Shah.
Notably, no side has successfully chased that total in Galle so Pakistan will need nothing short of a miracle to win the Test.
Dinesh Chandimal nears century-mark
Sri Lanka batter Dinesh Chandimal is playing on 92 and just eight runs short of completing a century.
Dinesh Chandimal (86 not out) helped Sri Lanka push their lead to 333 at the end of day three of first Test despite a brilliant five-wicket haul from Mohammad Nawaz at Galle on Monday.
Sri Lanka lost Kasun Rajitha early on Day 3, with Mohammad Nawaz getting his second wicket of the innings. However, Pakistan were not able to press home the advantage as the Sri Lanka batters stabilised their innings. Both Oshada Fernando and Kusal Mendis paired well to drive Sri Lanka forward. Fernando was the more aggressive of the two, hitting some beautiful shots. He was well-supported by Kusal, who was solid in his defence.
Despite a couple of close lbw calls, Fernando survived to bring up a patient fifty. However, the 91-run stand was broken on the second ball after the lunch break but not before the duo had extended Sri Lanka's lead to 136.
Fernando was Yasir Shah's first wicket of the innings and he continued to impress as the Sri Lanka innings progressed further. He was complemented by Mohammad Nawaz, who was bowling maturely and soon dismissed the experienced Angelo Mathews. Kusal Mendis' gritty innings of 76 was stopped by Yasir, a superb leg-spin delivery that brushed Kusal's off-stump.
Yasir took his third wicket of the innings with another beauty, stopping Dhananjaya de Silva's 20-ball 20 knock. Even as Dinesh Chandimal held one end, Nawaz and Yasir tightened the screws on the rest of the line-up. As many as five wickets fell in the second session with Sri Lanka going to tea at 257/7. And soon after the break, Nawaz completed his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests with the scalp of Ramesh Mendis.
With eight wickets down and a lead of around 250, Sri Lanka needed someone to push them towards a more challenging total. And Dinesh Chandimal took up the job without ceremony. He had already formed useful partnerships with the lower middle-order and continued that as he got to his half-century.
He shared a 41-run ninth-wicket stand with Maheesh Theekshana (11 runs from 57 balls) and another unbeaten 21-run last-wicket partnership with Prabath Jayasuriya (4 not out) to take Sri Lanka's lead to 333. Bad light forced early stumps in Galle with Sri Lanka on 329/9 and Chandimal going strong on 86 not out.