Prasad finished with figures of 3-78 off 19 overs

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Sri Lanka’s pace duo of Nuwan Pradeep and Dhammika Prasad ripped through Pakistan’s batting line-up with three wickets apiece to leave them in all sorts of trouble at the end of the second day of the third Test in Pallekele.

Sarfraz Ahmed and Azhar Ali were the only two Pakistan batsmen to put up a fight as they made 72 not out and 52 respectively.

Starting out the day on 272/8, Sri Lanka were only able to score six more runs before they were bowled out.

Yasir Shah was the pick of the bowlers with five wickets, while Rahat Ali snapped up three and Azhar Ali chipped in with two.

Trailing by 278, Pakistan kept losing wickets at the wrong time, whether it be when a new batsman just arrived at the crease or when they were starting to rebuild their innings after losing a key batsman.

Despite losing numerous partners along the way, Ali managed to make 52 off 96 balls, which included eight boundaries, before he was caught by Dimuth Karunaratne off the bowling of Pradeep.

Ali scored his 20th Test fifty

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Even though Pakistan continued to lose wickets at regular intervals after Ali’s dismissal, Ahmed maintained his composure and, like on many occasions before this, he ensured that he did not gift his wicket to Sri Lanka.

Even with the rain falling and the light fading, Sri Lanka were unable to remove Ahmed. As a result, he remained undefeated and put together an unbeaten seven-run partnership with Imran Khan before the umpires brought play to an end earlier than expected due to bad light.

Ahmed ended up finishing on 72 off 94 balls, which included six boundaries, while Khan has yet to get off the mark.

Ahmed hit six boundaries during his unbeaten knock of 72

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Pradeep and Prasad took three wickets apiece, while Tharindu Kaushal claimed two.

Pakistan ended day two on 209/9 and will continue batting tomorrow at 10:00 local time or 04:30 GMT.