McCullum is at the crossroads
GALLE, Sri Lanka Leg-spinner Yasir Shah claimed a career best – seven for 76 as Pakistan stunned Sri Lanka by 10 wickets in the first Test yesterday to take the lead in the three-match series.
Yasir spun a web around the Sri Lankan batsmen to skittle them for a paltry 206 in their second innings just before tea on the fifth and final day.
Pakistan set a victory target of 90, raced home in 11.2 overs with Mohammad Hafeez unbeaten on 46 and Ahmed Shehzad on 43 at the Galle International Stadium.
It was Pakistan ’ s first test win in Sri Lanka since the eightwicket triumph in Kandy in 2006.
The second Test starts at the P Sara Oval in Colombo on Thursday.
Pakistan ’ s remarkable recovery from 96-5 in the first innings came after the entire first day ’ s play had been washed out and just 64 overs were bowled on the second day.
Opener Dimuth Karunaratne top-scored with 79, Lahiru Thirimanne made 44 and Dinesh Chandimal was last man out for 38, but the rest of the batsmen folded against Pakistan ’ s incisive bowling.
The 29-year-old Yasir, later named man of the match,
– ripped through the batting as Sri Lanka lost their last five wickets for 39 runs.
Sri Lanka took their overnight score of 63-2 to 1444 by lunch, before a further six wickets fell on a dramatic afternoon in front of some 1 000 home fans.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq, who gambled by electing to field first after winning the toss, was jubilant.
“It was very clear in our minds that the only one way to win this Test was if we got them out early in the first innings.” – CHESTER-LE-STREET, England – New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum said he would take some time to decide on his one-day international future after the dramatic climax to a 3-2 series loss in England.
The 33-year-old McCullum has a long-standing back complaint and there has been speculation that, after 254 matches at this level, he could miss New Zealand ’ s limited overs-only tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa in August with the aim of giving heir apparent Kane Williamson more captaincy experience.
Having led New Zealand to a maiden World Cup final on March 29 where they suffered a seven-wicket defeat by Australia in Mel- bourne, McCullum may decide he has few more peaks left to climb in the one-day game.
“I don ’ t know. We ’ ll wait and see,” said McCullum when asked about his one-day future after England ’ s three-wicket win in a rain-affected clash on Saturday gave the hosts a 3-2 victory in the five-match series.
“We ’ ll let the dust settle on this. It ’ s been a great year, an incredible summer for us,” McCullum said.
“’I ve enjoyed the last two years. The body ’ s a bit sore but we ’ ll see what hap-
AFP