Pakistan make great chase to level series against Sri Lanka

Mushtaq A Subhani

SHARJAH: Pakistan did a miracle as they successfully chased a difficult target to win the third and final Test and leveled the series 1-1 here at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Monday.

Chasing 302, Pakistan completed their five-wicket thrilling win, when captain Misbah-ul-Haq took a single, with nine balls to spare on the fifth and final day of the match.

This was Pakistan’s second best chase in Test cricket, behind the 315-run target they chased against Australia at Karachi in 1994.

However, Azhar Ali was the main architect of the historic victory, scoring a brilliant century while Misbah made a fine fifty after Sarfraz Ahmed contributed a useful 48 off 46 balls with four fours and a six.

Azhar Ali made 103 off 137 balls, his fifth hundred in Test cricket. He hit only six fours in a 238-minute stay at the crease.

He was involved in two big successive partnerships – first with Sarfraz for a rapid 89-run fourth wicket stand and then with Misbah for a 109-run fifth wicket partnership.

He was out caught behind off pace bowler Suranga Lakmal in the 57th over when Pakistan were just seven runs away from their memorable victory.

Misbah remained not out on 68, an aggressive innings from 72 balls with four boundaries while Asad Shafiq was on one.

Earlier, Sri Lanka were all out for 214 just before lunch as captain Angelo Mathews (31) and Prasanna Jayawardene (49) added 62 for the sixth wicket partnership.

Left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman captured four wickets for 56 while off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and pace bowler Mohammad Talha bagged three wickets each for 53 and 65, respectively.

Pakistan began the chase, an uphill task, with Khurram Manzoor and Ahmed Shehzad made 21 each and Younis Khan hit 29 before Sarfraz Ahmed joined Azhar Ali at 97-3.

Azhar Ali was adjudged the Man-of-the-Match for his terrific century while Mathews was declared the Man-of-the-Series for his 412 runs in three Tests. The winning trophy was shared by both teams for playing a drawn Test series.

Sri Lanka had won the second Test in Dubai by nine wickets while the first Test ended in a draw in Abu Dhabi.