Abdullah Shafique, Pakistan's opener, stole the show with a remarkable effort of 160 not out off 408 balls, his best-ever score in the longest version of the game, as he helped Pakistan defeat Sri Lanka by four wickets in the opening Test at Galle on Wednesday.
Thanks to Shafique's efforts, Pakistan was able to successfully chase down 342, setting a record for the biggest run chase in Test matches at Galle International Stadium.
With 120 runs needed to win, day five began at 222/3. The opening 30 minutes of play featured some tight calls and some exquisite bowling from Sri Lanka despite them losing both of their remaining reviews.
Shafique was struck in the back-pad by a slider bowled by the spinner Prabath Jayasuriya after umpire Kumar Dharmasena had warned the bowler about his height. However, Sri Lanka requested the review because the game was in the balance and Shafique's prized wicket was on the line. Replays revealed that the ball had bounced over and was missing the wickets, saving Shafique from being declared leg before wicket.
A few overs later, Jayasuriya once more bowled beautifully, gliding the ball in and spinning it away with the bounce. When Mohammad Rizwan, the wicketkeeper, attempted a forward defence, the ball appeared to be quite close to the bat. The Sri Lankan fielders appealed, sounding certain that the dismissal was a caught-behind, but the umpire was unconcerned.
The UltraEdge displayed a flatline with no indication that the ball had made contact with the bat when they performed their most recent review. Sri Lanka was left trapped with no reviews while Rizwan lived.
Rizwan proved to be a dependable batting partner for established player Shafique as they both batted cautiously to bring their team near to victory. They added 48 runs in the first hour, leaving them with just 72 to go.
When Rizwan was caught behind the stumps, Jayasuriya achieved his first wicket. Pakistan requested a review, but Sri Lanka won it because Rizwan returned after scoring a strong 40 from 74 balls. Then, when Pakistan reached 298/5 at lunch, the spinner struck, forcing Agha Salman to nick behind.
After lunch, Pakistan lost another wicket when Hasan Ali was caught by Dhananjaya de Silva's deep-off delivery. As they drew nearer to victory, Shafique and Mohammad Nawaz withstood several attempts at dismissal, with Kasun Rajitha losing a catch.
Rain began to fall with 11 runs needed to complete a victory. But it didn't last long since Shafique and Nawaz swiftly scored the necessary runs for Pakistan to win, with the former cutting in through cover for the decisive boundary.
The win sees Pakistan jump to third place on the World Test Championship standings with a win-loss percentage of 58.33 percent, while Sri Lanka crashed to sixth place.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 218 and 344-6 in 127.2 overs (Abdullah Shafique 160 not out, Babar Azam 55, Prabath Jayasuriya 4-135) beat Sri Lanka 222 and 337 by four wickets