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<\/picture><\/div>\nSaud Shakeel missed out on a century for the second successive time but his gritty 97 foiled Sri Lanka’s push for a win on the fifth and final day in the drawn first cricket test against Pakistan on Friday.<\/p>\n
It was the first drawn game for Pakistan in its disappointing campaign in this World Test Championship cycle, losing seven and winning two of its previous nine test matches.<\/p>\n
Shakeel, who made 93 in Pakistan’s first innings of 434-9 declared, dug in for almost entire final day before he was bowled by Lahiru Kumara after facing 210 balls late on the fifth and final day.<\/p>\n
By that time, the home team had reached 284-8 for an overall lead of 272 as the players shook hands and the match was called off.<\/p>\n
Sri Lanka’s pace bowlers had rattled the top order under overcast conditions in the first session by reducing Pakistan to 125-5, but Shakeel showed lot of temperament and shared a match-saving 92-run stand with Ghazi Ghori, who made 35, to deny Sri Lanka unlikely win.<\/p>\n
Milan Rathnayake (3-47), Asitha Fernando (2-35) and Kumara (2-65) had given Sri Lanka a sniff before Shakeel stood firm and saved Pakistan from going down in the two-test series.<\/p>\n
The second test will be played at the same Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from next Tuesday after it was relocated to Rawalpindi due to increase in the smog level at Lahore.<\/p>\n
Steely Shakeel stands firmPakistan’s batters had stumbled against Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis’ innovative field setting in the first session which was disrupted by 20-minute stoppage of play due to bad light.<\/p>\n
Skipper Babar Azam scored 34 and Salman Ali Agha made 13 before both fell into Mendis’ fielding trap and offered catches at short backward square leg on a second successive overcast morning at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where 117 overs were lost due to bad light and rain during the first four days.<\/p>\n
Pakistan, which curtailed the Sri Lankan first-innings lead to 12 on the back of an inspiring seven-wicket debut by fast bowler Saqib Khan, led by just 139 runs at lunch and had given Sri Lanka a chance.<\/p>\n
Shakeel successfully overturned an lbw decision against him early in the innings and also got a nasty blow on the shoulder off Dilshan Madushanka’s short ball as the Sri Lankan seamers got plenty of seam movement in favorable conditions.<\/p>\n
Resuming on 57-1, Pakistan had a disastrous start to the final day when both overnight batters, Azan Awais and Mohammad Taha, were dismissed without adding to their scores of 22 and 24, respectively.<\/p>\n
Awais flashed hard at Kumara’s first ball and was caught at slips while Fernando’s delivery seamed enough to get the outside edge of Taha’s bat from the other end.<\/p>\n
Babar added 50 runs with the defiant Shakeel and struck six boundaries with his trademark cover drives and straight drives but yet again couldn’t convert a good start into big innings as his century drought in test matches was extended to 42 innings.<\/p>\n
Babar also survived two chances. Kamindu Mendis grassed a regulation chance in the second slip when Babar was on 22 and then had a close lbw call go in his favor on an umpire’s call before he fell into Mendis’ trap and gave a simple catch to Lahiru Udara.<\/p>\n
Rathnayake executed the fielding plan well with another short ball to Agha and Pasindu Sooriyabandara brought up a spectacular catch before Shakeel and Ghori stood firm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n