Leg-spinner Yasir Shah claimed a career-best seven for 76 as Pakistan stunned Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the first Test yesterday to take the lead in the three-match series
Pakistan's Yasir Shah celebrates the dismissal of Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath during the final day of the opening Test at the Galle International Cricket Stadium yesterday
Galle: Leg-spinner Yasir Shah claimed a career-best seven for 76 as Pakistan stunned Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the first Test yesterday to take the lead in the three-match series.
Pakistan's Yasir Shah celebrates the dismissal of Sri Lanka's Rangana Herath during the final day of the opening Test at the Galle International Cricket Stadium yesterday. Pic/AFP
Yasir spun a web around the Sri Lankan batsmen to skittle them for a paltry 206 in their second innings just before tea on the fifth and final day. Pakistan, set a victory target of 90, raced home in 11.2 overs with Mohammad Hafeez unbeaten on 46 and Ahmed Shehzad on 43 at the Galle International Stadium.
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It was Pakistan's first Test win in Sri Lanka since the eight-wicket triumph in Kandy in 2006. The second Test starts at the P Sara Oval in Colombo on Thursday.
Pakistan's remarkable recovery from 96-5 in the first innings came after the entire first day's play had been washed out and just 64 overs were bowled on the second day. Opener Dimuth Karunaratne top-scored with 79, Lahiru Thirimanne made 44 and and Dinesh Chandimal was last man out for 38, but the rest of the batsmen folded against Pakistan's incisive bowling.
The 29-year-old Yasir ripped through the batting as Sri Lanka lost their last five wickets for 39 runs after being 167 for five at one stage.
Controversy strikes
Sri Lanka took their overnight score of 63-2 to 144-4 by lunch, before a further six wickets fell on a dramatic afternoon in front of some 1,000 home fans.
Sri Lanka suffered a massive blow off the second ball after resumption from lunch break when skipper Angelo Mathews was controversially given out caught at short leg by TV umpire Chris Gaffaney.
The New Zealander upheld on-field umpire Richard Illingworth, who had ruled that the batsman was caught at short-leg off Yasir even though replays proved inconclusive whether the ball had come off the bat.
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