Sharjah: Sri Lanka skipper Angelo Mathews and debutant Dilruwan Perera both just missed out on centuries, but they steered their team to a commanding score of 428 for nine declared on the second day of the third and final Test at Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Thirty-one-year-old Perera batted like a veteran of many battles for five hours to score 95 runs with 12 boundaries and two sixes. Mathews, for the second time this series, got out for 91. He struck five boundaries and a six.
Pakistan, who need to win to level the series, were 19 for no loss after playing out six overs before the close.
Perera, picked primarily as an off-spinner, used his ten seasons of experience in first class cricket with the Colombo Colts to frustrate Pakistan’s bowlers. He and Mathews put on 112 runs for the seventh wicket and he then added another 72 for the ninth wicket with Shaminda Eranga (25 not out).
The day began with Sri Lanka hoping for a total in excess of 300 but they exceeded their expectations in a big way thanks to a remarkable show of application from their batsmen, especially after they were 166 for five at one stage on Thursday.
Pakistan could get only one wicket during the two-and-a-half-hour pre-lunch session, which was extended due to Friday prayers. A Mohammad Talha bouncer forced Prasanna Jayawardene to hole out to Junaid Khan at long-leg on 35, ending a 73-run partnership with Mathews. But the captain’s stand with Perera proved to be even more damaging to Pakistan.
Perera showed no signs of nerves from the start. He began by hitting a sparkling square cut to the boundary off the first ball he faced in Test cricket and he went from strength to strength, providing excellent support to his skipper.
Mathews, who was on 34 when Prasanna departed, played cautiously as Sri Lanka crossed the 300-run mark in the last over before lunch. The first session produced only 82 runs in 35 overs and, at one stage, only 22 came from 16 overs. The crowd chanted as one, urging them to score faster, but the batsmen refused to go for the big shots.
A few close calls also went against Pakistan and they exhausted their quota of reviews. Mathews then escaped being out leg before to Abdur Rahman, when umpire Richard Kettleborough declared him not out, but replays showed he was stuck low on the front pad.
Mathews and Perera recorded their century partnership in 43.1 overs but, when Mathews was just nine short of a well-deserved century, he played Junaid into the hands of Ahmad Shahzad at deep point. Junaid then trapped Rangana Herath leg before with the next delivery.
Perera reached his maiden Test half-century by steering Junaid past second slip and gully to the boundary. He would have become the fourth Sri Lankan batsman to score a century on debut, but he went for a hook and top edged Talha to Junaid at long-leg. He received a standing ovation as he walked back to the pavilion.
