Sri Lanka are in the driving seat in the ongoing second and final Test against Pakistan as they have set a record target of 508 before restricting the tourists to 89/1, keeping their hopes of a series-levelling victory alive.
Bad light forces early stumps again!
Pakistan need 419 runs.#SLvPAK pic.twitter.com/HW4gf9MipK
— Sri Lanka Cricket 🇱🇰 (@OfficialSLC) July 27, 2022
The hosts declared their second innings on 360/8, thanks to the batting brilliance of Dhananjaya de Silva, who smashed 109 to mark his ninth Test ton, helping the hosts take a solid grip on the contest.
9th test 100 for Dhananjaya de Silva. Interestingly, he has more test 100s than Sanga had after 81 innings #SLvPAK
— Prithvi (@Puneite_) July 27, 2022
Captain Dimuth Karunaratne (61), who was struggling with lower back pain, smashed a remarkable 61 and formed a crucial 126-run stand with De Silva after the Islanders resumed Day 4 on 176/5.
Dimuth Karunaratne scoring a captain's knock of 61 runs with a back injury #SLvsPAK pic.twitter.com/ELeNR13tfT
— Akhila Seneviratne (@AkhilaSene97) July 27, 2022
In their massive chase, Pakistan started with positive intent as both Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq started founding the boundaries. The pair added 42 runs before a stunning catch from Dunith Wellalage removed the in-form Shafique for 16.
Brilliant catch by Dunith wellalage to take the first wicket of pakistan 2nd innings 👏 pic.twitter.com/vJEEx1SBFe
— RANODH 9 (@LRB20079) July 27, 2022
The dismissal, however, couldn’t stop Pakistan from maintaining a healthy run rate, thanks to attacking strokes from Imam and skipper Babar Azam. The two batters ensured the visitors didn’t sustain any damage as they batted cautiously into tea.
.@ImamUlHaq12 and @babarazam258 take Pakistan to tea at 71-1 🏏#SLvPAK | #BackTheBoysInGreen https://t.co/F3UpcmpbHX pic.twitter.com/b4uOlGrl5e
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) July 27, 2022
Just as the game was reaching the final hour of action, the home team was robbed of precious time as only six overs could be played in the final session before bad light stopped play. Opener Imam was batting on 46 while Babar was at 26 at stumps with Pakistan 419 runs behind the target.
Bad light forces early stumps on day four.
All to play for on the final day 👀
Watch #SLvPAK live on https://t.co/CPDKNxoJ9v (in select regions) 📺#WTC23 | 📝 Scorecard: https://t.co/bqUZQPJLFu pic.twitter.com/jXZRutDuuE
— ICC (@ICC) July 27, 2022