Abid Ali steers Pakistan to mammoth lead against Sri Lanka in Karachi Test
Shaheen Shah Afridi took 5-77 in first innings, his best figure so far in Test.
KARACHI (Dunya News/AFP) – Pakistani openers Abid Ali played an outstanding innings of 150 runs against Sri Lanka to wrest back control of the proceedings on third day of the Karachi Test.
Batsmen Ali and Masood posted a partnership of 278 runs, and have taken the hosts to the lead of 234 runs in the third session. Azhar Ali has joined the settled Abid Ali on the crease to drive the team towards a mammoth score as Pakistan stand at 314 for one wicket in third session.
Abid Ali joined the elite club of batsmen who have hit hundreds in consecutive matches in his first two Tests on the third day of the second match against Sri Lanka in Karachi on Saturday.
The 32-year-old completed his century with a sweep off spinner Lasith Embuldeniya for two to follow up his 109 in the drawn first Test in Rawalpindi -- his debut Test.
That hundred in the first Test had made Abid the first batsman ever to score hundreds on both Test and one-day debuts.
He scored 112 in his first one-day international, against Australia in Dubai earlier this year.
Abid becomes the ninth batsmen and first Pakistani in the history of Test cricket to achieve the feat of consecutive hundreds in their first two Tests.
India’s Mohammad Azharuddin scored three hundreds in his first three Tests after making his debut against England at home in December 1984.
William Ponsford, Doug Walters and Greg Blewett of Australia, Sourav Ganguly and Rohit Sharma of India, Alvin Kallicharran of the West Indies and Jimmy Neesham of New Zealand are the others who hit two consecutive centuries in their first two Tests.
On Day 2, Lanky paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi took a maiden five-wicket haul to lead Pakistan’s fightback after Sri Lanka gained a crucial lead.
The 19-year-old paceman took 5-77 and was ably supported by new-ball partner Mohammad Abbas (4-55) to keep Sri Lanka down to 271 on a tricky National Stadium pitch.
That gave the visitors a lead of 80 runs over Pakistan’s first-innings total of 191.
By the close of second day’s play Pakistan had wiped off 57 of the deficit for no loss but they still trail by 23 runs with all 10 wickets in hand and three days to play.
The first Test in Rawalpindi ended in a draw due to bad weather, leaving both teams to fight it out for the series win in Karachi.
The series is part of the ongoing World Test championship with nine teams competing. The top two teams will play the final in June 2021.
The Test series -- part of the ongoing World Test championship -- is the first in Pakistan since a militant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in 2009 suspended international cricket in the country.
