Opener Abdullah Shafique hit a gritty century to keep Pakistan in the hunt to chase down a victory target of 342 in the opening Test against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pakistan ended day four on 222 for three, still needing 120 runs to take the lead in the two-match series at Galle, where the highest successful fourth-innings chase is 268 by Sri Lanka against New Zealand in 2019.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sri Lanka need seven wickets to get their second straight win at a venue where they beat Australia last week to end that two-match series level at 1-1.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Shafique, batting on 112, and skipper Babar Azam, who made 55, put together 101 runs for the third wicket but spinner Prabath Jayasuriya broke through just a few overs before the close of play.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"He is one of the best players, so he provided good support while batting and guided me all along on how to play," Shafique, who called his ton a "special one", said of captain Azam.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"So was a not a good thing when he got out but now the responsibility lies on me."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Left-arm spinner Jayasuriya bowled talisman Azam around the batsman's legs with a delivery that spun sharply from outside leg to rattle the stumps of the right-hander, who looked visibly shocked.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan was batting on seven at stumps alongside Shafique, who had so far faced 289 balls and hit five boundaries and one six.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pakistan began strongly with a 87-run partnership between Shafique and fellow opener Imam-ul-Haq, who made 35, but an alert stumping from wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella broke the stand.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The left-handed Imam missed a delivery from off-spinner Ramesh Mendis and Dickwella clipped off the bails, with the decision going up to the third umpire.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Various TV angles established that Imam's foot was just millimetres off the ground when the bails were dislodged.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Azhar Ali was the next to go when he edged a ball from Jayasuriya, who claimed a five-wicket haul in the previous innings, to first slip. He made six off 32 deliveries.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
- 'Still in the game' -
\r\nAzam, who hit a defiant 119 in Pakistan's first innings total of 218, then joined Shafique as the two rebuilt the innings on a turning pitch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Azam reached his fifty and two balls later Shafique got his second Test hundred with a single off Maheesh Theekshana, raising his bat to a standing ovation from the dressing room.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"All of a sudden the wicket went flat... still we kept them under three runs and we did a marvellous job on that track," Sri Lanka's spin coach Piyal Wijetunga told reporters.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We are still in the game. If we grab two wickets in the morning session we have a great chance of winning this game."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Azam, who crossed 10,000 international runs on day two and averages over 45, went past 3,000 Test runs during another stubborn knock in which he hit Jayasuriya for a few boundaries and one six.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Shafique also hit his only six against Jayasuriya and said things went to plan.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We have just one plan in mind and that is to go after Jayasuriya," said Shafique.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"He has done well in the first innings and if we figure him out well here then we have a pretty good chance of batting well against them."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sri Lanka took the second new ball in the 81st over but the spinners kept up the attack in the tense final overs of the day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
In the morning, Sri Lanka resumed the day on 329-9 in their second innings. Dinesh Chandimal was stranded on 94 when they were all out for 337.
\r\n <\/p>\r\n",
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