Kumar Sangakkara hit his eighth double hundred while Prasanna Jayawardene notched up a fighting century to salvage a draw for Sri Lanka in the first Test against Pakistan.
Sangakkara scored 211 during a marathon near eleven-hour stay while Prasanna made 120, for his fourth century, as Sri Lanka piled on 483 to frustrate Pakistan on the fifth and final day.
A cluster of wickets in the final session, with Umar Gul taking 4-64, left Pakistan with a target of 170 in a maximum 20 overs, but they called it quits on 21-1 after 10 overs.
Sangakkara finally fell in the last over before tea to Azhar Ali. Prasanna fell caught behind off paceman Aizaz Cheema but by that time he and Sangakkara had changed the course of the match. Sangakkara flicked Cheema to fine-leg for his 18th boundary to reach his double hundred. Prasanna and Sangakkara added 201 for the sixth wicket stand, erasing the previous best of 169 in Pakistan-Sri Lanka Tests for this wicket between Kamran Akmal and Yasir Arafat at Karachi two years ago.
Prasanna, dropped by substitute Wahab Riaz off Gul on 11 -- one of six catches Pakistani fielders dropped on Friday -- hit Aizaz Cheema and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal for consecutive boundaries to help Sri Lanka erase the deficit.
Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq blamed sloppy fielding as the main reason for his team's failure to win the first Test against Sri Lanka, saying it was the only negative to take from the match.
Misbah said Pakistan's fielding, always their weak point, has improved over the years. "But we’ve focused and worked hard on this for the last year and a half. The problem still does come up again but we are trying to better it," said Misbah. "We took 20 wickets and lost seven, so it's really a positive sign for our team. We can work hard on fielding, come with more confidence and do well in the second Test," Misbah said. Misbah defended his team's tactics of not giving it a go in the run chase.
Sri Lankan captain Dilshan said he thought Pakistan would go for the target. "I think it’s a huge advantage for us," said Dilshan of the result. Dilshan praised Sangakkara and Prasanna for their stubborn partnership. "It was a fantastic partnership. Sangakkara showed his class, played well in the middle and guided Prasanna. I can't ask for more from him. He is a fantastic player and Prasanna played equally well," said Dilshan. Dilshan hoped his side will gain from the draw. "Definitely I am really happy. The thing is after first couple of days we were well behind in the match and even then the body language in fielding and bowling on a flat wicket was great," said Dilshan.
Sangakkara scored 211 during a marathon near eleven-hour stay while Prasanna made 120, for his fourth century, as Sri Lanka piled on 483 to frustrate Pakistan on the fifth and final day.
A cluster of wickets in the final session, with Umar Gul taking 4-64, left Pakistan with a target of 170 in a maximum 20 overs, but they called it quits on 21-1 after 10 overs.
Sangakkara finally fell in the last over before tea to Azhar Ali. Prasanna fell caught behind off paceman Aizaz Cheema but by that time he and Sangakkara had changed the course of the match. Sangakkara flicked Cheema to fine-leg for his 18th boundary to reach his double hundred. Prasanna and Sangakkara added 201 for the sixth wicket stand, erasing the previous best of 169 in Pakistan-Sri Lanka Tests for this wicket between Kamran Akmal and Yasir Arafat at Karachi two years ago.
Prasanna, dropped by substitute Wahab Riaz off Gul on 11 -- one of six catches Pakistani fielders dropped on Friday -- hit Aizaz Cheema and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal for consecutive boundaries to help Sri Lanka erase the deficit.
Meanwhile, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul Haq blamed sloppy fielding as the main reason for his team's failure to win the first Test against Sri Lanka, saying it was the only negative to take from the match.
Misbah said Pakistan's fielding, always their weak point, has improved over the years. "But we’ve focused and worked hard on this for the last year and a half. The problem still does come up again but we are trying to better it," said Misbah. "We took 20 wickets and lost seven, so it's really a positive sign for our team. We can work hard on fielding, come with more confidence and do well in the second Test," Misbah said. Misbah defended his team's tactics of not giving it a go in the run chase.
Sri Lankan captain Dilshan said he thought Pakistan would go for the target. "I think it’s a huge advantage for us," said Dilshan of the result. Dilshan praised Sangakkara and Prasanna for their stubborn partnership. "It was a fantastic partnership. Sangakkara showed his class, played well in the middle and guided Prasanna. I can't ask for more from him. He is a fantastic player and Prasanna played equally well," said Dilshan. Dilshan hoped his side will gain from the draw. "Definitely I am really happy. The thing is after first couple of days we were well behind in the match and even then the body language in fielding and bowling on a flat wicket was great," said Dilshan.
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