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Leg-spinner Yasir Shah claimed five for 95 as Pakistan halted Sri Lanka's march towards a big first innings lead in the second Test at the P. Sara Oval in Colombo on Friday.
Shah made up for the absence of injured pace spearhead Wahab Riaz to keep Sri Lanka down to 304-9 by stumps on the second day in reply to the Pakistan's modest 138.
Yasir, whose seven-wicket haul in Sri Lanka's second innings fashioned Pakistan's 10-wicket victory in the first Test in Galle, once again tormented the rival batsmen.
He had Lahiru Thirimanne caught at short-leg by Azhar Ali for seven before lunch, and then bowled both Dinesh Chandimal (one) and Kithuruwan Vithanage (three) in the afternoon session.
Yasir's dismissal of Mathews gave the leg-spinner his 50th wicket in only nine Tests, making him the fastest among Pakistani bowlers to reach the mark.
Idol Warne boosted Yasir
Yasir said he derived his confidence from an encouraging tweet by Australian leg-spin legend Shane Warne, whom he regards as his idol.
Warne had tweeted last year after watching Shah bowl on television: “I like the look of this leggie Yasir Shah, plenty of energy and nice variations of pace.”
“His words actually put me under pressure to live up to his appreciation and it has been good so far,” the 29-year-old Yasir said.
“The focus remains on bowling a good line and length and control my variations. One needs to be patient in Test cricket and that is what I am trying to do.”
Yasir said losing the services of Wahab hurt his team, but he remained confident that the Test was not out of Pakistan's reach.
“We are a bowler short because of the injury and the need is to contain Sri Lanka's lead,” he said.
“The pitch is still playing well, but it will offer more for the spinners on the last two days.
Yasir's achievements
Yasir Shah picked up 50 Test wickets in 9 matches, the fastest for any Pakistan bowler, beating Waqar Younis, Shabbir Ahmed and Mohammad Asif, who needed 10 Tests each.
Yasir Shah's 24 wickets are the most for any bowler in the year 2015. England's James Anderson and Stuart Broad have picked up 23 wickets each and are joint second.
