GALLE: Yasir Shah claimed seven second innings wickets in a spectacular display of leg-spin bowling to destroy Sri Lanka as Pakistan crushed the hosts by 10 wickets in the first Test to go 1-0 up in the three-match series at Galle on Sunday.

Yasir, who had claimed two wickets in the first innings, took a career-best 7-76 in the second before Pakistan chased down the 90-run victory target in a little over 11 overs to register their first test win in Sri Lanka since 2006.

Openers Mohammad Hafeez (46) and Ahmed Shehzad (43) scored briskly as Pakistan came back from 96-5 in their first innings to win even after rain had washed out four sessions of the contest on the first two days at the Galle International Stadium.

Hafeez and Ahmed knocked off the target in 47 minutes requiring just 11.2 overs. Hafeez smashed 46 off 33 balls with six fours and a six while Ahmed finished on 43 not out in 35 balls with six boundaries.

It was Pakistan’s first Test win in Sri Lanka since the eight-wicket triumph in Kandy in 2006.

Pakistan’s remarkable recovery from 96-5 in the first innings came after the entire first day’s play had been washed out and just 64 overs were bowled on the second day.

Opener Dimuth Karunaratne top-scored with 79, Lahiru Thirimanne made 44 and Dinesh Chandimal was last man out for 38, but the rest of the batsmen folded against Pakistan’s incisive bowling.

The 29-year-old Yasir ripped through the batting as Sri Lanka lost their last five wickets for 39 runs after being 167 for five at one stage.

Sri Lanka took their overnight score of 63-2 to 144-4 by lunch, before a further six wickets fell on a dramatic afternoon in front of some 1,000 home fans.

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq, who had gambled by electing to field first after winning the toss, was jubilant by what he described as a ‘big win’.

“It was very clear in our minds that the only one way to win this Test was if we got them out early in the first inni­ngs,” the 41-year-old said. “We took our chance and it worked. There was a bit of moisture which helped our spinners, because the ball turned and bounced.

“Hats off to everyone. It began with the fightback by Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz Ahmed from 96-5. This really is a big win for us and boosts our confidence for the remaining matches.”

A disappointed Sri Lankan captain Angelo Mathews hoped his team will recover from the defeat.

“This was a pretty bad loss for us, but the Pakistanis deserved to win,” he said. “The idea was to bat through the day, but we kept losing wickets.

“We have two more games to bounce back and don’t need to panic. It was just a one-off game. We have got to keep trust in the players we have got.”

The hosts lost nightwatchman Dilruwan Perera off the first ball of the day, bowled by Yasir, but the left-handed pair of Karunaratne and Thirimanne put on 69 runs for the fourth wicket.

With the hosts just 15 runs ahead, left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz had Thirimanne caught low at first slip by Younis Khan to keep the interest alive during the lunch break.

Sri Lanka suffered a massive blow off the second ball after resumption when Mathews was controversially given out caught at short leg by TV umpire Chris Gaffaney.

The New Zealander upheld on-field umpire Richard Illingworth, who had ruled that the batsman was caught at short-leg off Yasir even though replays proved inconclusive on whether the ball had come off the bat.

Mathews, who had called for a review as soon as the umpire raised his finger, was visibly furious as he returned to the pavilion.

Neither hot-spot or snickometer technology is part of the Decision Review System for the series.

Karunaratne’s patience after a vigil of more than four hours at the crease ran out when he attempted a big hit off Yasir, missed the line and was smartly stumped by an agile Sarfraz.

Sarfraz Ahmed was adjudged man-of-the-match for his gritty 96 in the first innings to go with the three catches and as many stumpings he effected in the match.

The second Test starts at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo on Thursday.

Scoreboard

SRI LANKA (1st Innings) 300 (J.K. Silva 125, K.C. Sangakkara 50; Zulfiqar Babar 3-64, Wahab Riaz 3-74, Mohammad Hafeez 2-40, Yasir Shah 2-79).

PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 417 (Asad Shafiq 131, Sarfraz Ahmed 96, Zulfiqar Babar 56, Younis Khan 47; M.K.D. Perera 4-122, K.T.G.D. Prasad 3-91, N Pradeep 2-71).

SRI LANKA (2nd Innings, overnight 63-2):

J.K. Silva c Azhar b Wahab 5

F.D.M. Karunaratne st Sarfraz b Yasir 79

K.C. Sangakkara c Azhar b Yasir 18

M.K.D. Perera b Yasir 0

H.D.R.L. Thirimanne c Younis b Wahab 44

A.S. Mathews c Azhar b Yasir 5

L.D. Chandimal st Sarfraz b Yasir 38

K.D.K. Vithanage c Zulfiqar b Yasir 1

K.T.G.D. Prasad st Sarfraz b Zulfiqar 2

H.M.R.K.B. Herath c Hafeez b Yasir 1

N. Pradeep not out 0

EXTRAS (B-5, LB-1, W-6, NB-1) 13

TOTAL (all out, 77.1 overs) 206

FALL OF WKTS: 1-18, 2-63, 3-63, 4-132, 5-144, 6-167, 7-175, 8-200, 9-203.

BOWLING: Wahab Riaz 16-4-46-2 (6w); Junaid Khan 7-1-23-0; Yasir Shah 30.1-6-76-7 (1nb); Mohammad Hafeez 10-3-24-0; Zulfiqar Babar 14-4-34-1.

PAKISTAN (2nd Innings):

Mohammad Hafeez not out 46

Ahmed Shehzad not out 43

EXTRAS (B-3) 3

TOTAL (for no wkt, 11.2 overs) 92

BOWLING: Herath 4.2-0-30-0; Prasad 2-1-10-0; Pradeep 2-0-18-0; Perera 3-0-31-0.

RESULT: Pakistan won by 10 wickets.

UMPIRES: R.K. Illingworth (England) and P.R. Reiffel (Australia).

TV UMPIRE: C.B. Gaffaney (New Zealand).

MATCH REFEREE: B.C. Broad (England).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Sarfraz Ahmed.

SECOND TEST: Colombo (P. Sara Oval), June 25-29.

THIRD TEST: Pallekele, July 3-7.

Published in Dawn, June 22nd, 2015

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