Salman falls before Stumps as Sri Lanka take control of second Test

GALLE: Pakistan’s right-handed batsman Salman Ali Agha, who scored a struggling half-century for the touring team, fell moments before Sri Lanka took command of the ongoing Test with a 187-run lead.

The third and final session of matchday two remained even until the last ball of the day, but Salman’s dismissal on the last shot turned the tide in favor of the hosts.

Pakistan, which seemed to have stabilized thanks to the courageous seventh wicket partnership between Salman and Yasir Shah, struggles again at 191/7 with a deficit of 187 runs.

Earlier in the session, the tour team lost their experienced left-handed batsman, Fawad Alam, by 24, who went down briefly after Tea when Ramesh Mendis caught him in his legs.

All-rounder Mohammad Nawaz then briefly put up a fight with his 12-for-37, but he too couldn’t hold out for long as Mendis eliminated him from behind.

Following his dismissal, Salman was joined by Yasir, who spun his legs, adding a crucial 46-run partnership for seventh wicket. Salman kept the scoreboard going and soon racked up her half-century as a maiden, while Yasir showed courage by defending him.

The partnership between the two batsmen was going strong long before Prabath Jayasuriya scored on the last pitch of the play of the day and gave the home team the lead.

Salman scored 62 of 126 balls, linked with six limits and a six, while Yasir remained undefeated with 13 of 61.

Following the late dismissal, Pakistan will now resume their performances at 191/7 on the third day of the second Test with a whopping 187-run deficit.

For Sri Lanka, Mendis led the way with three wickets, while Jayasuriya made two scalps.

Asitha Fernando and Dhananjaya de Silva, on the other hand, struck out one batter each.

The hosts enjoyed a dominant second session after finishing the first session on a high. The Sri Lankan bowlers showed a combined bowling effort and made three scalps for their side to give them an advantage over the visitors.

Resuming their performances at 15/1 after Abdullah’s early dismissal, Pakistan’s dynamic duo Babar and Imam could only add 20 runs to the total before Prabath Jayasuriya castled the right-handed batsman for just 16.

Following Babar’s sacking, Imam looked to take the innings with a brief partnership with Mohammad Rizwan, which saw the two batsmen add just 30 runs, as the former perished this time after scoring on 32 from 54 balls, intertwined with four bounds. .

Rizwan’s stay in the crease was also brief after Imam’s departure as he was only able to score 24 out of 35 deliveries.

With the road team struggling at 88/4, Fawad and Salman showed resilience and held their bat until the end of the second session.

In the first session, Sri Lanka, after resuming their early innings with a score of 315/6 overnight, managed to add a crucial 63 runs to the total and pushed the touring team off the back foot.

Goalkeeper batsman Niroshan Dickwella, who was looking at his half-century in the stumps on opening day, soon racked up the milestone. The right-handed batsman scored 51 for 54 balls, tied with six bounds and a six.

As well as Dickwella, Ramesh also contributed his major punch for the team as he scored a major 35 from 52 balls, including bounding five, and bolstered his side to a massive 378 as the Thainders remained clueless against Pakistan’s bowling attack. .

For Pakistan, Naseem Shah and Yasir Shah each took three wickets while Mohammad Nawaz claimed two.

Nauman Ali, on the other hand, made a head of hair.

In response to Sri Lanka’s 378, Pakistan got off to the worst possible start as the touring team lost their last hero of the match, Abdullah, to a two-ball duck on the first two balls of their innings.

Following Abdullah’s early departure, Pakistan captain Babar Azam and left-handed starter Imam-ul-Haq anchored the inning and made sure the team did not lose any more wickets as they finished at 15/1 at lunch.