At the Galle International Stadium here on Thursday, Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by an overwhelming margin of 246 runs to tie the two-match series at 1-1. Babar Azam's 81-ball innings was in vain.
Prabath Jayasuriya, a left-arm spinner who made his Test debut earlier this month, was the driving force behind Sri Lanka's vital victory. He has taken 29 wickets in his six Test innings, including four five-wicket hauls and a 10-wicket match haul.
The deft spinner, who scored the most runs in the first innings with 62, took 3/80 in the first innings, including the wickets of the dangerous Babar Azam (16) and Agha Salman. Ramesh Mendis' five-for helped Sri Lanka restrict Pakistan to just 231, giving them a 147-run advantage after the first innings.
Pakistan was then given a tough mark of 508, which the hosts successfully chased down with a strong batting display headed by century Dhananjaya de Silva (109). At the end of day four, the visitors had put on a confident 89/1.
With 419 runs needed for victory, Pakistan had their work cut out for them when play resumed on the last day with the prospect of rain lurking over them.
Babar and Mohammad Rizwan had held the visitors steady after losing Imam ul Haq early in the day for 49. The pair put together an excellent partnership of 78 runs, which enabled Pakistan to easily complete the first hour of the day's play.
However, the momentum turned back in the hosts' favour inside a span of seven overs. Rizwan was first dismissed by Jayasuriya for 37, Fawad Alam was run out (1) by a terrible mix-up, and three overs later, at the start of lunch, Agha Salman (4) was caught out by Jayasuriya.
Pakistan's situation dramatically deteriorated following the break. Captain Babar Azam, their lone combatant, was Jayasuriya's fourth victim after losing to him for a tough 81. Ramesh Mendis removed Mohammad Nawaz for 12 in the subsequent over.
With a quick-fire knock of 27, Yasir Shah attempted to postpone the inevitable, but Jayasuriya had other ideas. Eighth and ninth wickets were lost in a three-ball span. As Sri Lanka romped to a 246-run victory, Naseem Shah put up an 18-run stand for the final wicket, but it was too little, too late for the visitors.
Prabath Jayasuriya finished with a match haul of 8/197, while Ramesh Mendis registered a match haul of 9/148.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 378 (Dinesh Chandimal 80, Niroshan Dickwella 51; Naseem Shah 3-58, Yasir Shah 3-83) & 360/8 (Dhananjaya de Silva 109, Angelo Mathews 35, Karunaratne 61; Naseem Shah 2-44, Mohammad Nawaz 2-75) beat Pakistan 231 (Agha Salman 62, Imam ul Haq 32; Ramesh Mendis 5-47, Prabath Jayasuriya 3-80) & 261 (Babar Azam 81, Imam ul Haq 49; Prabath Jayasuriya 5-117, Ramesh Mendis 4-101) by 246 runs