Noman Ali double-strike earlier than lunch turns Galle Test Pakistan’s manner
Lunch Sri Lanka 312 and 94 for 3 (Madushka 47*, Noman 2-18) path Pakistan 461 (Shakeel 208*, Ramesh Mendis 5-136) by 55 runs
Regular strikes gave Pakistan a stranglehold over the primary Test match in Galle, with Sri Lanka shedding three wickets and, at lunch on the fourth day, nonetheless 55 runs in arrears.
While Pakistan relied on their tempo bowlers for early breakthroughs within the first innings, Galle’s repute for spin-friendliness – particularly in the direction of the back-end of a Test – started to change into obvious as Noman Ali and Abrar Ahmed shared the wickets on the fourth morning.
Dimuth Karunaratne and Nishan Madushka offered Sri Lanka with a stable begin, after seeing off just a few overs within the fading mild the day past. There wasn’t a lot rotation of the strike – it wasn’t till the tenth over and the thirty ninth run that the primary single was taken – however Sri Lanka picked up a boundary every over, and regardless of some probing strains from Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, appeared usually snug.
But Abrar’s introduction had an instantaneous affect, as an uncharacteristically free shot from Karunaratne noticed Agha Salman take a sensational catch diving low at midwicket. Madushka and Kusal Mendis returned calm to the innings although the run fee slowed, seeing off the quick bowlers and searching moderately assured towards spin.
But a pair of strikes within the final half-hour from Noman turned issues round. He first trapped Kusal Mendis in entrance, earlier than a beautiful supply spinning away from Angelo Mathews caught the sting and was pouched neatly by Babar Azam at first slip.
Madushka was stable on the different finish as he neared his half-century, however Sri Lanka are working out of time to show this match round, with Pakistan sniffing their first Test win in a yr.