Pakistan thrash Sri Lanka in Karachi Test, win series

Karachi, 23 December 2019: Pakistan needed a mere 16 balls to wrap-up a comprehensive 263-run win against Sri Lanka on the fifth and final day of the second Test match of the ICC World Test Championship at the National Stadium, Karachi on Monday. The hosts won the two-match series 1-0, the first Test of the series ended in a draw in Rawalpindi last week.

Teenaged pace sensation Naseem Shah recorded the first five-wicket haul of his career in only his third Test to spearhead the resounding victory. Resuming at the overnight score 0f 212 for seven, Sri Lanka lost Lasith Embuldeniya on the first ball of the day to a searing bouncer bowled by Naseem with wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan taking an easy catch.

Yasir Shah made the big breakthrough in the next over, centurion Oshada Fernando was caught by Asad Shafiq in the slips without addition to his overnight score of 102. The match ended in the next over when Naseem trapped Vishwa Fernando lbw for a duck.

The victory earned Pakistan 60 points; they now have a total of 80 points after four ICC World Test Championship Test matches.

Scores in brief:

Pakistan 191 all out, 59.3 overs (Asad Shafiq 63, Babar Azam 60, Abid Ali 38; Lahiru Kumara 4-49, Lasith Embuldeniya 4-71) and 555 for 3 declared, 131 overs (Abid Ali 174, Shan Masood 135, Azhar Ali 118, Babar Azam 100 not out; Lahiru Kumara 2-139)

Sri Lanka 271 all out, 85.5 overs (Dinesh Chandimal 74, Dilruwan Perera 48; Shaheen Shah Afridi 5-77, Mohammad Abbas 4-55) and 212 all out, 62.5 overs (Oshada Fernando 102, Niroshan Dickwella 65; Naseem Shah 5-31)