Pakistan will look to use their newfound batting aggression to double up against Sri Lanka in the second Test starting Monday, after securing their first long-format victory for a year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The visitors arrived in Sri Lanka without a Test win to their name in 12 months but despite a wobbly final-innings chase a four-wicket victory in Galle means they need only a draw in Colombo to win the two-match series.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
A determined effort to raise their run rate with a more positive approach paid dividends, scoring at more than 4.5 per over for much of their first innings and putting the Sri Lankan bowlers under pressure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
It is an approach that has echoes of England's new "Bazball" style.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The first hundred of Saud Shakeel's double century came off just 129 balls, his 177-run partnership with Agha Salman laying the foundation for Pakistan's 149-run first innings lead.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After the last Test cycle, Pakistan's management was "very firm" that one of the reasons they were not winning matches was that "we weren't scoring at such a high rate as the opposition", Shan Masood said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
There had been a "concentrated effort" at pre-tour training camps in Lahore and Karachi, he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The emphasis was on scoring runs just to sort of put the opposition under pressure," said Masood, who scored 39 off 30 balls in the first innings in Galle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"That has put us back in the game."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pakistan may want to include another seamer as the Singhalese Sports Club track is known to provide bounce and movement, but will have to consider whether to make changes to a winning side.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
- Dropped catches -<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sri Lanka will have to improve if they are to win the match and draw the series.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Other than Dhananjaya de Silva -- who made 122 and 82 -- their batsmen failed to deliver in Galle, many of them getting into the 20s and 30s but not building on their starts.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The hosts will be keen to have Asitha Fernando back in the side ahead of Kasun Rajitha, who took 1-77 in 19 first-innings overs and was not called on in Pakistan's second innings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Fernando had to sit out the first Test, recovering from dengue fever.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sri Lanka's catching was poor -- Shakeel was dropped on 93 and 139 -- and they admitted wasting several of their reviews.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Dimuth Karunaratne acknowledged invoking DRS was his call as captain but said he made his decisions "based on the feedback from the bowler and wicket-keeper".<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"The misjudging of reviews is a loss for the team and can be crucial during a tight game," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We will have to focus on making the right use of reviews and what could be done differently."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sri Lanka have won 20 of the 43 Tests played at SSC and lost only nine, including the most recent Test it hosted, against England five years ago.<\/p>\r\n\r\n