Naseem leads Pakistan to emotional home win
KARACHI:PAKISTAN celebrated the return of Test cricket for the first time in over 10 years with a 263run win over Sri Lanka in the second Test in Karachi on Monday, taking the series 1-0
It took just 14 minutes and 16 balls for Pakistan to wrap up the win on the fifth morning as they took Sri Lanka’s last three wickets without any addition to their overnight 212 Pakistan had set a daunting 476-run target on Sunday and reduced the tourists to 212 for seven at the close Teenage quick bowler Naseem Shah, at 16 years and 307 days, became the second youngest bowler to take five wickets in a Test innings as he bowled an express spell to finish with five for 31 Fellow Pakistani and leftarm spinner Nasim-ul-ghani holds the record and was just four days younger when he completed the feat against the West Indies at Georgetown in the 1957-58 series
Naseem was aged six when international cricket was suspended in Pakistan following an attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009
“Naseem is a special talent and we can build on our bowling attack in the years to come,” Pakistan captain Azhar Ali said
Pakistan turned the match with a huge second innings score of 555 for three declared on Sunday, with 174 from man-of-the match and man-of-the series Abid Ali, 135 from Shan Masood, 118 from Azhar and 100 not out from Babar Azam
The final day began in a dramatic manner when Naseem dismissed Lasit Embuldeniya off the first ball, catching his gloves on the way to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan
From the other end, leg-spinner Yasir Shah had Oshada Fernando caught in the slip for his overnight score of 102 after a spirited 180-ball innings that contained 13 fours
Naseem wrapped up the match by trapping Vishwa Fernando with the fifth ball of the next over, triggering jubilation among the Pakistan players who were all playing in their first Test series at home
It is Pakistan’s first series win at home against Sri Lanka since 1992 The win lifts Pakistan to third in the World Test Championship table with 80 points India
(360) and Australia (216) are currently first and second
ALI THANKS SRI LANKA
Pakistan skipper Ali, meanwhile, thanked Sri Lanka for their part in allowing Test cricket to return “Special thanks to Sri Lanka from the bottom of our hearts,” said Azhar “They have given us immense happiness by playing in Pakistan, it was pretty emotional
Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne said his team had felt safe in Pakistan
“Security was 200 per cent,” said Karunaratne, one of ten
players who withdrew from Sri Lanka’s limited-overs tour in September-october over security fears
“Security people were like fathers to us They kept talking to us and they were right behind us every time When we were going out to eat or shopping, they were there”
Karunaratne urged other teams to consider touring Pakistan, but admitted they would need convincing
BRIEF SCORES: Pakistan 191 &
555/3d beat Sri Lanka 271 & 212 in 625 overs (Oshada Fernando 102; Naseem Shah 5/31, Yasir Shah 2/84) by 263 runs