LAHORE-Abdullah Shafique’s maiden double hundred and Salman Ali Agha’s second century put Pakistan in a commanding place towards Sri Lanka on third day of the second Take a look at match on the Sinhalese Sports activities Membership Floor in Colombo on Wednesday.
In accordance with data obtained right here, on the shut of the third day, Pakistan have been 563 for 5 in 132 overs, main by 397 runs. Earlier, resuming their first innings on the in a single day rating of 178 for 2, Pakistan misplaced their captain Babar Azam, when he was enjoying at 39 off 75 balls with the assistance of 4 boundaries and one six. The skipper may add simply 11 runs to his in a single day rating.
After Babar Azam’s departure within the 48th over, double centurion from first Take a look at match Saud Shakeel joined Abdullah and the pair added important 109 runs for the fourth-wicket partnership. Throughout 57-run innings, Saud grew to become the one batter on the planet to attain six half-centuries in seven Take a look at matches with two centuries.
After Saud’s departure, wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed gathered 14 runs off 22 balls, hitting three boundaries, earlier than getting damage when he was struck on the pinnacle by Asitha Fernando’s bouncer within the 86th over of the innings and needed to return again to the pavilion. Later, he was substituted with Mohammad Rizwan, who got here in as concussion substitute.
Abdullah was the following batter to return again to the hut after scoring 201 runs off 326 balls, which included 19 fours and 4 sixes. Agha Salman was then joined by Rizwan within the center and the pair stitched an unbroken 95 runs for the sixth wicket. Agha struck 15 fours and one six throughout his unbeaten 132-run knock which got here off 148 balls. Rizwan returned undefeated on 37 off 61, hitting one 4 and a six.
Proper-handed opener Abdullah Shafique shared his insights, saying, “I practiced with Sri Lanka’s situations in thoughts. Earlier than coming right here, I knew it might be spin-friendly, so I centered on perfecting my sweep shot. In Take a look at matches, the sport modifications with every session, so we aimed to take care of our preliminary intent all through the innings. The rain interruption disrupted our momentum, however we tailored our plans accordingly.”
Abdullah emphasised the common facet of coping with unhealthy days for skilled gamers, saying, “Each participant goes via it; it occurs to everybody. Nevertheless, a great cricketer is one who rapidly works on his weaknesses to beat such phases. After I wasn’t performing effectively, I diligently labored on my errors, which introduced a great enchancment in me,” he added.
“The administration and captain Babar Azam have been extremely useful. They by no means made me really feel like I wasn’t scoring sufficient runs.” Abdullah, aged 23y and 246days, additionally achieved the excellence of turning into the third-youngest Pakistani participant to attain a Take a look at double century, following Javed Miandad (19y and 140d) and Hanif Mohammad (23y and 27).