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Updated July 26, 2023

Pakistan Set Massive Lead Against Sri Lanka

TL;DR

After securing the first test against the host, Pakistan is now aiming to win the series and complete the clean sweep over Sri Lanka.

Pakistan Set Massive Lead Against Sri Lanka

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The second game of the two-match test series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan is going on. After securing the first test against the host, Pakistan is now aiming to win the series and complete the clean sweep over Sri Lanka. Pakistan already have built a massive lead against Sri Lanka after the Day 3rd. Opener Abdullah Shafiq is the leading man to build a huge lead over the host, smashing a double hundred. In response to Sri Lanka's 166, Pakistan already have scored 563 runs for five wickets. They will continue adding runs on the scoreboard as they still have five wickets in their hands. Toss: Dimuth Karunaratne, the captain of Sri Lanka, won the toss and opted to bat first against the visitors.

The Lankan batters brutally failed

Losing the toss, the home team started their batting innings with Nishan Madushka and skipper Dimuth Karunaratne stepping into the crease. But the pitch was not in their favor. Pakistani bowlers got a turn from the wicket, which helped them to destroy Sri Lankan's top order. However, the first blood drew in the third over as opener Nishan Madushka departed the crease after being run out. After that, pacer Naseem Shah had a brilliant spell. He picked up three wickets from the Lankan top order, including Angelo Matthews, Dinesh Chandimal, and the skipper Dimuth Karunaratne. As a result, Sri Lanka had gone four wickets down in just 35 runs. It seemed the home team would lose all their wickets before 100 runs, but Dhananjaya de Silva came forward to rescue the home side. When the host continued losing their batters, Dhananjaya de Silva remained very calm between the wickets. He tried hard to handle the disaster. Unfortunately, the other batters of Sri Lanka couldn't contribute enough, and Silva's innings of 57 runs came to an end when Abrar Ahmed picked him up in the 36.3 over. Legbreak bowler Abrar Ahmed picked up four wickets to tie Sri Lanka within 166 runs only.

Abdullah Shafique was out of his world

Pakistan lost an early wicket as Imam-ul-Haque departed in the 3rd over. But Abdullah Shafique then started to rule the Lankan bowlers. With Shan Masood, he made a brilliant partnership of 108 runs to build a strong basement for Pakistan. Although Shan Masood lost his wicket after getting a half-century, Abdullah Shafique never stopped picking runs. He made another partnership of 89 runs with the skipper, Babar Azam. However, Abdullah Shafiq scored his career-best 201 runs in this match before losing the wicket to Prabhat Jayasuriya. Apart from his cameo innings, Salman Ali Agha is also heading towards a big score. He has already smashed the century and keeps going. After Day 3, Salman Ali remains not out in 132 runs. He will continue tomorrow with Mohammad Rizwan. As of now, Pakistan scored a massive 563 runs, taking the lead of 397.

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