Credit: Twitter
The much anticipated Sri Lanka vs Pakistan Test got underway at Galle on Sunday. Winning the toss, Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne asked Pakistan to bowl first and opened the innings for Sri Lanka. The day was a balanced one, in favour of both the team, as runs flowed at a steady rate, but wickets fell at regular intervals too in the rain-curtailed game. But the highlight of the day’s play was the catch taken by Imam ul Haq on the last delivery of the day.
Dhananjaya de Silva and Sadeera Samarawickrama were batting valiantly in under low light in difficult conditions and they even brought up a crucial 6th wicket partnership worth 57 runs. Agha Salman was bowling the 66th over for Pakistan when he bowled a flat, stunning off-spinner on the off-side.
The ball turned a bit, got a thick inside edge from Sa marawickrama, and then Imam ul Haq at short leg made a full stretch dive to his right and plucked the ball through thin air. The right-hander batter just stood at his place, staring in disbelief.
Watch the video here:
The crucial wicket marked the end of the day’s play and Sri Lanka ended it with 242 runs on the board with a loss of six wickets. Left-arm Shaheen Afridi was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up all three of the top three Lankan batsmen with stunners. Pakistan will look to finish the Lankan tail as early as possible on Monday and get in the driver’s seat.
The Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka consists of two Test matches which will be played at Galle and Colombo, from July 16 to July 28. These Tests are a part of the 2023-25 World Test Championship cycle, and both teams will be eager to start off their campaign with wins in this series.