Shah (centre) finished with career-best figures of 7-76 off 30.1 overs
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Pakistan spinner Yasir Shah was on fire during the final day of the first Test in Galle as he ripped through Sri Lanka’s batting line-up to not only lead his side a 10-wicket win, but also give them a 1-0 lead in the series.
Sri Lanka opener Dimuth Karunaratne was the only batsman to make a big score as he converted his overnight score of 36 into 79, which came off 173 balls and included 10 boundaries.
Karunaratne made a gutsy 79
Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo
Besides Karunaratne, the only other batsmen to make valuable contributions were Lahiru Thrimanne, who scored 44, and Dinesh Chandimal, who made 38.
Other than them, all the other batsmen failed to get into double figures. With Shah continuing to peg Sri Lanka back with wickets at regular intervals, the hosts were eventually bowled out for 206, which set Pakistan a target of 90 to win.
Shah was easily the pick of the bowlers as he took a career-best seven wickets, while Wahab Riaz snapped up two and Zulfiqar Babar claimed one.
Pakistan had no trouble reaching their target of 90 as Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad amassed an unbeaten 92-run partnership to guide Pakistan to a convincing 10-wicket win.
Hafeez finished on 46 off 33 balls, which included six boundaries and a six, while Shehzad remained undefeated on 43 off 35 deliveries, which included six boundaries.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was disappointed with his side’s performance, and said: “Pretty bad loss. Pakistanis deserved to win. We have two more games to bounce back. We decided to bat through. First session was crucial. Unfortunately we kept losing wickets. We bowled well in patches but they bowled better than us. Our spinners were not that effective on this track. We don’t need to panic. Just a one-off game. Got to keep trust in the players. Pretty disappointed (with the umpiring decision) but that is how it goes, people do make mistakes, got to live with it.”
Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq was delighted to have won, and said: “It was very clear in our minds that the only one way of wining this Test is if we can get them early in the first innings. We just took that chance, there was a little bit of moisture, that helped our spinners, the ball was turning and bouncing even in the first innings, thereafter hats off to everyone.
[The] Fightback from Shafiq and Sarfraz. Wahab in the first innings, supported well by the three spinners. Really a big win for us, especially in Galle, We have been losing the last three series here, we were hoping we can get on top in this series, it is a confidence boost for us to go up 1-0. We were really practising last couple of series (for Herath), even in Bangladesh we played lot of left-armers. Tried to be positive against Herath, when you are playing him from the crease and letting him bowl, he could trouble you.
“Everybody applied themselves and we got good results. On these pitches when you have footmarks, leg-spinner plays a big role, that is what he (Yasir) has been doing in the UAE, he has really improved and is bowling really well, his performance was key for us winning this Test. We were positive right from the toss. We thought of winning even though it was three-and-a-half days.”
Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed was named Man of the Match, and said: “I do lots of practice, lots of sweep shots with batting coach Grant Flower. I am disappointed (playing on off a paddle on 96), next time I will be careful when I am in the 90s.”