PALLEKELE (Sri Lanka), July 10: Young all-rounder Thisara Perera followed his four wickets with 75 off 86 balls as Sri Lanka seized control of the final Test of the Mobilink Jazz Cup series against Pakistan here on Tuesday.

Pakistan, seeking a series-levelling win, paid for sloppy fielding as Sri Lanka recovered from a middle-order collapse to make 337 in their first innings on the third day.

The tourists, trailing by 111 runs, were 27-1 in their second knock by stumps, losing opener Taufiq Umar for four, leg-before to seamer Nuwan Kulasekara, although television replays later showed the ball had pitched outside leg stump.

Mohammad Hafeez was unbeaten on eight and Azhar Ali was on six, with Pakistan trailing by 84 runs with nine wickets in hand.

The resolute batting by the hosts has given them a chance to build on the 1-0 series lead. Sri Lanka won the first Test by 209 runs before the second was drawn.

Sri Lanka were only 10 runs ahead when they lost their seventh wicket, but the left-handed Perera and Kulasekara (33) snatched the initiative by adding 84 for the eighth.

Perera, a 23-year-old from Colombo playing only his sixth Test, smashed four fours and three sixes in his maiden half-century after being dropped twice on 11 and 22.

Seamer Umar Gul first missed a return catch and then saw skipper Misbah-ul-Haq spill a low chance in the slips off his own bowling.

Perera, whose four wickets in the first innings engineered Pakistan's collapse for 226, was last man out when he was bowled by left-arm seamer Junaid Khan.

Junaid finished with 5-70, his second successive five-wicket haul, while off-spinner Saeed Ajmal claimed 3-66.

The third day's play provided a keen tussle between bat and ball, compensating for the entire second day being lost due to rain.

Tharanga Paranavitana and Thilan Samaraweera led Sri Lanka's charge with a fourth-wicket stand of 143 after surviving a testing morning session in overcast conditions.

The pair had come together when skipper Mahela Jayawardene fell off the last ball of the first day's play to leave Sri Lanka tottering at 44-3 at stumps.

Left-handed Paranavitana scored 75, his highest score in the series, and Samaraweera made 73 in a timely return to form after aggregating just 21 runs in the previous two Tests.

Pakistan bounced back in the post-lunch session as Saeed grabbed two quick wickets to leave Sri Lanka on 204-6 after they were comfortably placed at 187-3.

Samaraweera was lucky to get to a half-century as Younis Khan floored a shoulder-high catch off Gul when the batsman was on 49.

The fourth-wicket stand was broken midway through the afternoon session when Samaraweera played back to Saeed and was out leg-before.

New man Angelo Mathews began with a promising on-drive off Mohammad Sami for four, but fell for nine when he sliced Junaid to Asad Shafiq at gully.

Paranavitana’s five-hour vigil ended soon after, bowled by Saeed to make Sri Lanka 204-6, still 23 runs away from gaining the lead.

Pakistan felt the absence of wicket-keeper Adnan Akmal, who was confined to the dressing room with a hairline fracture in his left hand sustained while batting on the opening day.

Taufiq, who kept wickets, conceded 16 byes.—AFP

Scoreboard

PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 226 (Asad Shafiq 75, Misbah-ul-Haq 40; N.L.T.C. Perera 4-63, H.M.R.K.B. Herath 3-40). SRI LANKA (1st Innings, overnight 44-3 from Sunday): N.T. Paranavitana b Saeed    75 L.D. Chandimal lbw b Junaid    8 K.C. Sangakkara b Junaid    0 D.P.M.D. Jayawardene lbw b Sami    12 T.T. Samaraweera lbw b Saeed    73 A. Mathews c Asad b Junaid    9 H.A.P.W. Jayawardene lbw b Umar Gul    20 N.L.T.C. Perera not out    75 K.M.D.N. Kulasekara c Taufiq b Junaid    33 H.M.R.K.B. Herath lbw b Saeed    2 C.R.D. Fernando not out    0

EXTRAS (B-16, LB-7, W-6, NB-1)    30 TOTAL (all out, 100.2 overs)    337 FALL OF WKTS: 1-14, 2-14, 3-44, 4-187, 5-200, 6-204, 7-236, 8-320, 9-337. BOWLING: Umar Gul 22-3-90-1 (5w); Junaid Khan 28.2-3-70-5; Mohammad Sami 17-1-69-1 (1w); Saeed Ajmal 25-5-66-3; Younis Khan 3-0-9-0 (1nb); Mohammad Hafeez 5-0-10-0.

PAKISTAN (2nd Innings): Mohammad Hafeez not out    8 Taufiq Umar lbw b Kulasekara    4 Azhar Ali not out    6 EXTRAS (LB-4, W-5)    9 TOTAL (for one wkt, six overs)    27 FALL OF WKT: 1-16. BOWLING (to-date): Kulasekara 3-1-9-1; Perera 3-0-14-0 (5w).