GALLE – Pakistani skipper and top batter Babar Azam slammed anotherastounding century to propel Men in Green out of the crisis in the firstinnings against Sri Lanka.
The star batter marked his seventh ton and reached the milestone of 10,000international runs during his crucial knock of 119 runs before beingdismissed by Maheesh Theekshana.
The 27-year-old also smashed Virat Kohli’s record to become the fastestAsian batter to complete 10,000 runs in international cricket.
Besides Babar’s innings, the batting line of visitors remained helpless asthe team was struggling on 148/9 before a 70-run last-wicket partnershipbetween the captain and the young Naseem Shah.
Pakistani skipper remained the major runs contributor in the persistent10th wicket stand while right-arm pacer put up a strong resistance againsthosts.
Lankan side started their second inning with a four-run lead and was off toa solid start before Mohammad Nawaz struck in the second last over toremove the skipper Dimuth Karunaratne on 16.
Read Top Stories
Earlier in the day, Men in Green underwent complete batting chaos afterresuming with the overnight score of 24/2. Left-arm spinner Jayasuriyaoutclassed Azhar Ali on just the third ball as the play resumed on thesecond day with a half-an-hour delay.
Jayasuriya then claimed four crucial wickets in the first session of thesecond day to topple the touring party’s batting order.
Earlier, Pakistan restricted Sri Lanka to 222-run after Shaheen showcasedhis skills and talent in spin-friendly conditions and claimed four wicketsto topple the hosts’ batting order.
