COLOMBO: Abdullah Shafique’s first-innings double century, followed by a sensational seven-wicket haul by Noman Ali steered Pakistan to thump Sri Lanka in the second Test by an innings and 222 runs.
Following a dominant victory, Pakistan claimed their first clean sweep victory over Sri Lanka in the latter’s backyard after 1994.
The 2-0 series victory also marked a promising start to Pakistan’s World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 campaign as they hold the top in the standings with a 100 percent winning record.
Resuming Sri Lanka’s struggling second innings, Angelo Mathews and Ramesh Mendis could add a further 34 runs to their seventh-wicket stand before Noman struck again to get Mendis stumped on 16.
Following Mendis’s departure, Naseem Shah ran through the Sri Lankan batting tail by castling the last three batters on duck and completed a convincing victory for Pakistan.
Noman Ali led the bowling attack for Pakistan in the second innings with 7/70, followed by Naseem Shah’s 3/44.
Sri Lanka were in a state of bother at Tea on Day 4 as the home side slipped to 143/6, trailing a further 267 runs to avoid an innings defeat.
Noman Ali, who provided a much-needed breakthrough to Pakistan in the first session, picked up five more wickets to put Sri Lanka in heaps of trouble.
Angelo Mathews (38*) and Ramesh Mendis (0*) were at the crease for the home side before walking off for Tea.
Noman-led Pakistan dominated another session of the ongoing second Test to move just four wickets within completing a series sweep over Sri Lanka in their backyard since 1994.
Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis resumed Sri Lanka’s innings at 81/1 after Lunch and could add five more runs to their budding second-wicket partnership before Noman outclassed the former.
Karunaratne scored 41 from 61 balls, hitting six boundaries.
Mendis was soon to follow Karunaratne as the extra bounce got the better of him and he ended up handing a straightforward catch to Saud Shakeel off Noman Ali.
The left-arm spinner then struck thrice more in quick succession — removing Dinesh Chandimal (1), Dhananjaya de Silva (10) and Sadeera Samarawickrama (5) — to add further to Sri Lanka’s misery.
Noman’s exploits meant Pakistan went into the break, needing just four more wickets to conclude their Test tour of Sri Lanka in a perfect fashion.
At the stroke of Lunch on the penultimate day of the ongoing second Test, Sri Lanka were 81/1, trailing a further 319 runs.
Pakistan’s overnight pair of Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Rizwan resumed the touring side’s first innings at 563/5 on the fourth day.
Wicketkeeper batter Rizwan scored at a brisk rate to complete his half-century before Babar Azam finally called for the declaration with Pakistan at 576/5 and a hefty 410-run lead.
Mohammad Rizwan scored 50 not out in just 67 deliveries with the help of four boundaries and a six.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s centurion Salman Ali Agha remained unbeaten with a 154-ball 132 which featured 15 boundaries and a six.
Abdullah Shafique, who batted for over eight hours on his way to his maiden double century, remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with 201. He conceded 326 deliveries and smashed 19 boundaries and four sixes.
Besides them, left-handed batters Shan Masood (51) and Saud Shakeel (57) made vital contributions, scoring a half-century each.
Sri Lanka, who had a mountain to climb to avoid a defeat and a clean sweep in the two-match series, led by Pakistan 1-0, were off to a solid start.
Home side’s openers Nishan Madushka and Dimuth Karunaratne batted sensibly for their 69-run stand before Noman Ali dismissed the former to draw a much-needed success for Pakistan.
Madushka scored a gutsy 33 from 72 balls, hitting four boundaries and a six.
Kusal Mendis joined his skipper Karunaratne in the middle and could add 12 runs to their budding partnership before the lunch break was called.
Heading into the break, Karunaratne was unbeaten on 36 while Mendis was 11 not out.
READ: England retain Anderson in unchanged XI for Ashes finale