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Summary
Kumar Sangakkara hit an unbeaten century to steer Sri Lanka to a draw in the final Test against Pakistan on Friday and win his first series as captain. The left-hander made 130 not out as Sri Lanka, faced with a world record target of 492, defied the Pakistani bowlers to finish with 391-4 on the fifth day at the Sinhalese sports club. The rock solid Sangakarra's 19th Test century featured a fourth-wicket stand of 122 with Thilan Samaraweera (73) and 114 for the unbroken fifth with Angelo Mathews (64 not out). Sri Lanka clinched the series 2-0, their first at home against Pakistan after five unsuccessful attempts, and provided Sangakkara with a winning start as captain after he took over from Mahela Jayawardene in April. Sangakkara hung on for nearly seven hours on a placid pitch to frustrate Pakistan's bid to record a face-saving win ahead of the five-match one-day series starting at Dambulla on July 30. The two teams went into the last session of the match with Sri Lanka needing 154 runs from a possible 38 overs to record a record-breaking win and Pakistan requiring six wickets. The hosts gave an indication they would prefer to settle for a draw when they made just 76 runs from 26 overs in the two hours after lunch. Play was finally called off when 15 overs remained with Sri Lanka needing a further 101 runs.
