Pakistan held out for a draw in the first Test against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi, finishing Day 5 on 284 for 8, 272 ahead, as Saud Shakeel fell for 97 and debutant Saqib Khan, who took 7 for 130, was named Player of the Match.
Rawalpindi, Pakistan: Pakistan survived a testing final day to draw the first Test against Sri Lanka, closing on 284 for 8 on Friday, a lead of 272, with no time left for Sri Lanka to bat again. Saud Shakeel missed a hundred by three runs, and debutant Saqib Khan was named Player of the Match for his seven-wicket haul in the first innings.
How the match was set up
Pakistan declared their first innings at 434 for 9, with Saud top-scoring on 93. Sri Lanka replied with 446, a 12-run lead, built on Dhananjaya de Silva’s 167 and Kusal Mendis’s century. Mendis finished on 119. Saqib took 7 for 130, as covered in our Day 4 report, which left Pakistan on 57 for 1 and 45 ahead overnight.
Sri Lanka strike early on Day 5
Pakistan needed to bat out the final day, and Sri Lanka’s seamers made it hard. Lahiru Kumara removed Azan Awais for 22 early on, and Asitha Fernando later took out Mohammad Taha for 24. Babar Azam made 34 before falling in a leg-side trap set by Milan Rathnayaka, and Salman Agha was dismissed for 13 in the same way. Rathnayaka finished with 3 for 47, Fernando 2 for 35 and Kumara 2 for 65.
Saud and Ghori hold the middle
With the top order gone, Saud and Ghazi Ghori shared a 92-run stand for the sixth wicket that took the game away from Sri Lanka. Ghori made 35. Saud batted for 210 balls and hit seven boundaries before Kumara bowled him for 97, the second time in the match he had fallen in the nineties. The late wickets did not change the outcome, as the bad light and weather of the week had already cost 117 of the 360 scheduled overs.
What it means for the series
The draw leaves the two-Test series level. The second and final Test starts on Tuesday, 17 November, at the same Rawalpindi ground after the match was moved from Lahore because of smog.
Result: Match drawn. Pakistan 434/9 declared and 284/8 (Saud Shakeel 97, Ghazi Ghori 35; Milan Rathnayaka 3/47); Sri Lanka 446 (Dhananjaya de Silva 167, Kusal Mendis 119; Saqib Khan 7/130). Player of the Match: Saqib Khan.
