RAWALPINDI: Babar Azam’s century drought continued as Sri Lanka pushed hard for victory over Pakistan in the weather-hit first Test in Rawalpindi on Friday.
The tourists took four wickets in bad light in the morning as Pakistan reached 151-5 at lunch on the fifth and final day, leading by 139 runs with five wickets in hand.
At the break Saud Shakeel was unbeaten on 23 and Ghazi Ghori seven not out after a 20-minute break due to bad light halted Sri Lanka’s push for a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.
Azam fell to a leg-side trap, handing the short square-leg fielder a simple catch off fast bowler Milan Rathnayaka for 34, making it a 42nd innings without a Test century.
Salman Agha too fell in the same manner off Rathnayaka for 13, leaving Pakistan struggling on 125-5.
Earlier, Sri Lanka struck with the first ball of the day when Lahiru Kumara dismissed Azan Awais for 22 at Pakistan’s overnight total of 57.
Next over Asitha Fernando made it 57-3 with Mohammad Taha caught behind for 24.
Sri Lanka could have had Azam on 22 but Kamindu Mendis spilled a simple chance off Fernando as the Pakistan skipper failed to get an advantage.
Azam hit six fours and added 50 for the fourth wicket with Shakeel before playing a loose shot.
Fernando has taken 2-20 and Rathnayaka 2-32.
Earlier, Pakistan made a steady start to their second innings on the fourth day, with opener Tayyab Arif finding the boundary twice in the opening overs.
However, the right-handed batter was trapped lbw by Asitha Fernando for 11 off eight deliveries, leaving the hosts at 15-1 after 2.2 overs.
Azan Awais and Mohammad Taha then joined forces at the crease and steadied the innings with a valuable partnership, helping Pakistan extend their overall lead.
The pair resumed after the interval and added further runs to Pakistan’s advantage. However, deteriorating weather conditions, with bad light and rain, forced the players off the field, bringing the day’s play to an early conclusion with Pakistan at 57-1 after 21.2 overs.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka responded strongly to Pakistan’s first-innings total of 434-9, with Dhananjaya de Silva and captain Kusal Mendis leading the visitors’ recovery through a mammoth 249-run partnership, with both batters scoring centuries.
The visitors suffered an early setback on the second day, losing two wickets for just 12 runs. Mohammad Abbas dismissed opener Pasindu Sooriyabandara for a seven-ball duck before debutant Saqib Khan claimed his maiden international wicket, removing Dinesh Chandimal for one.
Lahiru Udara and Kamindu Mendis steadied the innings with a 50-run partnership before Saqib struck again, dismissing Udara for 42 off 52 deliveries, including seven boundaries, to leave Sri Lanka at 65-3.
De Silva and Kusal then took control, frustrating Pakistan’s bowling attack with their commanding partnership. Kamindu also contributed a crucial 90-run stand with De Silva, scoring 58 off 131 deliveries, including eight boundaries, before Mohammad Abbas dismissed him to leave Sri Lanka at 155-4 after 42 overs.
However, Pakistan staged an impressive comeback on the fourth morning as Sri Lanka added just 42 runs before losing their remaining six wickets to finish their first innings at 446.
