Sri Lanka pick three crucial wickets in afternoon session

Sri Lanka broke the lower back of Pakistan's top order with normal strikes to lessen the traffic to 111 for 4 at Tea, with Fawad Alam (18) and Agha Salman (thirteen) still batting and having the onus of protecting up for 267-run lead that the hosts still hold on the second one day of the second one Test, on the Galle International Stadium.

Resuming the second one session on 15 for 1, Pakistan lost skipper Babar Azam early. Looking to drive a free delivery, the Pakistan skipper dragged the ball by using Prabath Jayasuriya lower back onto his stumps. After a short length of consolidation, even Dhananjaya de Silva struck - this time, Imam ul Haq lacking the road even as playing for the flip and having the stumps disturbed.

Even as there wasn't an awful lot danger for the batters from the pitch, it remained a sample of their innings. They kept losing wickets after settling in and constructing partnerships that promised to revive their innings. Mohammad Rizwan's fall wasn't too different. After a ball that spun in sharply from Ramesh Mendis, the 'keeper-bat played for the turn off the following as nicely, only to be beaten by an arm ball that rapped him on his pads. Even a evaluation could not keep him.

Earlier inside the day, the Sri Lankan lower order had already annoyed the Pakistani bowlers with the aid of keeping them at bay for nearly an hour and a half whilst the hosts had lost their overnight batters - Niroshan Dickwella and Dunith Wellalage - early on Monday. Naseem Shah dismissed each the batters with quick pitched deliveries. Wellalage could not evade the bouncer and gloved it to Babar at slips, even as Dickwella - quickly after notching up his twenty second Test fifty - went too early on a pull and were given a slight side to the wicketkeeper.

Ramesh Mendis, but, become instrumental in ensuring the hosts delivered 63 runs to their overnight rating before getting bundled out. With a mixture of warning and at times attacking method, he scored a critical 35, which protected a 25-run partnership for the ultimate wicket with Asitha Fernando earlier than getting bowled by a Yasir Shah flipper.

The leggie, who had earlier trapped Jayasuriya legbefore with a googly, additionally again three wickets within the innings, much like Naseem. Pakistan's distress within the morning session didn't stop there. In the second ball of their innings, the in-form Abdullah Shafique inner edged an incoming transport from Asitha on to his stumps, to be dismissed for a duck.

Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 378 (Dinesh Chandimal 80, Niroshan Dickwella 51; Naseem Shah 3-58, Yasir Shah 3-83) lead Pakistan 111/4 (Imam ul Haq 32, Mohammad Rizwan 24; Dhananjaya de Silva 1-15) by 267 runs