Abu Dhabi: Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews showed plenty of character after Pakistan seamers Junaid Khan and debutant Bilawal Bhatti ripped through their top order on the first day of their first Test match on Tuesday.
Mathews’ defiant 160-minute stay at the crease to score 91 off 127 balls pulled his team out of a precarious situation to reach 204 on the opening day of the first Test at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium yesterday. Khan finished with exceptional figures of five for 59 from 20 overs, while Bhatti shone with three for 64.
At stumps, Pakistan were 46 for one after losing a well-set Khurram Manzoor for 21 following a needless run out towards the end of the day’s play. Ahmad Shehzad was unbeaten on 25 with Pakistan trailing by 158 runs.
“I have played more matches against Sri Lanka and that’s the only reason why I got more five wickets against them and nothing else. My role models are Akram and Waqar. I have followed them closely, have worked with them and that has helped. The pitch is good and if someone bowls a good line and length, then wickets are there to be taken,” said Khan.
It was Bhatti who turned the match on its head soon after the first session with three quick wickets and triggered the slide. Earlier, openers Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva were resolute against the Pakistan pace attack on a green top after being put in to bat. The Lankans would have been more than pleased to go into the break losing just one wicket of Karunaratne (38).
However, Bhatti who had looked very ordinary until then, was a completely different bowler after the break. In his first over, Bhatti got rid of the well set Silva (20), caught at slips by Mohammad Hafeez. He then got Mahela Jayawardene to err twice in his next over. Jayawardene got a lifeline when he was caught behind off a no-ball, but the veteran couldn’t make it count as he edged the next delivery while trying to defend.
Two balls later, Dinesh Chandimal also returned to the pavilion for a duck. Suddenly from 61 for one at lunch, the visitors slipped to 76 for four. In the eight-over spell after lunch, Bhatti gave away 43 runs to claim three wickets.
A lot was expected of Kumar Sangakkara, who boasts a staggering average of 89.23 in 31 innings against Pakistan. However, Khan did not allow Sangakkara to settle down and the latter was held at backward point by Ahmad Shehzad.
Khan was then on a hat-trick after he claimed the wickets of Sachithra Senanayake and Rangana Herath and the Lankans were tottering at 124 for eight. It was the fourth five-wicket haul by Khan, coincidentally all against Sri Lanka — his best being five for 38 in 2011 at the same venue.
Skipper Mathews, however, remained undeterred and even upped the tempo with some quick boundaries off Bhatti. His 50 came off just 49 deliveries and a ninth-wicket partnership of 61 with Shaminda Eranga frustrated Pakistan. Mathews was finally stumped by Adnan Akmal off Saeed Ajmal.
