Day four: Shafiq-Sarfraz blitz hands control to Pakistan

Visitors lead by 54 runs after pair put on 136-run sixth-wicket stand against Sri Lanka


Nabeel Hashmi June 21, 2015
Shafiq was last man dismissed for 131, his seventh Test century and the third in the last four matches. PHOTO: AFP

KARACHI:


Day four of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan saw the match’s equation changing dramatically as Pakistani bowlers carried the momentum instigated by spectacular knocks from Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed.


At the close of play, the visitors were in pole position to win the match with a lead of 54 runs, while Sri Lanka have eight wickets in hand in their second innings.

Sri Lanka finished at 63-2 in 21 overs, losing their talisman Kumar Sangakkara in the penultimate over of the day.

Sangakkara, who made a 27-ball 18, was picked up by leg-spinner Yasir Shah. The other wicket to go down was of first-innings centurion Kaushal Silva, who could only score five and was dismissed by Wahab Riaz.

Dimuth Karunaratne was unbeaten on 36 off 64 with the help of six boundaries, while nightwatchman Dilruwan Perera was not out on naught.

Pakistan seem to be smelling victory, which was glaringly apparent in the players’ body language and attacking field setting on Saturday.

“Pakistan have given themselves a strong chance of winning this Test match by removing Sangakkara towards the end and the pressure is now on Sri Lanka,” former captain Rashid Latif told The Express Tribune. “They should keep playing attacking cricket on day five and not allow Sri Lanka to gain the upper hand. Even if we concede few quick runs on Sunday morning, skipper Misbahul Haq shouldn’t be distracted from attacking.”

The morning assault

Nobody would have thought that Pakistan, who finished day three struggling on 118-5 and trailing by 182 runs, would build a lead of their own.

When Pakistan resumed play, Sarfraz Ahmed was unbeaten on 15, while Asad Shafiq was on 14.

Suddenly, Sarfraz erupted and started milking runs with ease both sides of the wicket — treating spinners and pacers alike — while Shafiq remained composed on the other end in an almost non-scoring mode for the first hour.

The hosts had no answer to Sarfraz’s improvisation as all field settings failed to stop the run-flow. But the batsman brought about his own downfall, chopping a full delivery from Dhammika Parsad onto his stumps while trying to score a century with a boundary.

Sarfraz made 96 off just 86 deliveries with 13 boundaries, as he, along with Shafiq, put up a 139-run stand for the sixth-wicket which took Pakistan to 235-6.

Shafiq then picked up from where Sarfraz left off and was involved in good little partnerships with Wahab Riaz (14) and Yasir Shah (23) to see Pakistan reach 302-8 with a lead of two runs. It was then that an unlikely hero in Zulfiqar Babar arrived.

The Shafiq-Zulfiqar association resulted in a 101-run stand which badly hurt Sri Lanka. Zulfiqar scored an entertaining maiden half-ton — a 60-ball 56 laced with two massive sixes and six fours — while Shafiq got out after his seventh Test century, making 131 with just five boundaries after 253 balls.

Pakistan were all out for 417 in 113.1 overs as Perera got four wickets, while Prasad claimed three scalps.

“I’ve said time and time again that Sarfraz will be the man who will rise to the occasion when Pakistan will be under pressure, but it’s sad that he has been misused of late in other formats,” said Latif. “If it wasn’t for Sarfraz’s onslaught, Pakistan would have hardly made 180 or 200.”

Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2015.

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