In the first Test of the Sri Lanka tour, Pakistan beat the hosts by four wickets. In their comprehensive victory, Pakistan batter Saud Shakeel shined with the bat. Shakeel hammered a match-winning century in adverse conditions in the first innings to take his team to the winning side.
On the fifth day of the match, Pakistan needed a modest target of 83 runs for victory. Despite the expectations of challenging conditions for the batters due to spin, the visitors displayed great determination and footwork to tackle it. Imam-ul-Haq’s composed half-century paved the way for a comfortable victory, and Saud Shakeel’s quick cameo further expedited the process.
Earlier in the match, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first. However, their batting performance was not up to par. Apart from Dhananjaya de Silva’s century and Angelo Mathews‘ half-century, not a single batter looked comfortable. On the other hand, Pakistan showcased a splendid team effort, with Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Abrar Ahmed claiming three wickets each in the first innings, causing significant damage to Sri Lanka’s batting lineup. With their efforts, Sri Lanka posted a decent total of 312/10 in the first inning.
Saud Shakeel’s double century proved to be a game-changer
In response, Pakistan faced some early troubles as Prabhat Jayasuriya, Rajitha, and R Mendis took five wickets. Their amazing bowling performance pushed the visitors way back in the game as they were crumbling at 101/5. However, middle-order batter Saed Shakeel came up with a different mindset. Shakeel fought against the odds and scored a magnificent double-century. He, along with Agha Salman, added 177 runs for the sixth wicket stand. This partnership proved to be a game-changer for the visitors.
However, in the second innings, Sri Lanka fought well but failed to put up a fighting total. Pakistan needed just 133 runs to win the game. Despite some early breakthroughs, the hosts failed to capitalise on the opportunity. Notably, this is Pakistan’s first Test victory in the last year, as they failed to win games against England and Australia at home.
Here is how fans reacted to Pakistan’s victory:
Against Zimbabwe?
— CMA Monesh (@Cmamonesh) July 20, 2023
SS snatched the game away from SL what a player
— Archer (@poserarcher) July 20, 2023
Away matches won as a Pakistan Test captain: Misbah-ul-Haq 13 (32 matches)
Babar Azam 7 (9 matches)
Saleem Malik 6 (9 matches)
Wasim Akram 6 (16 matches)
Virat Kohli won 16 Matches out of 34 Matches played overseas.
Overseas centuries by Virat Kohli alone – 26 (just overseas not…— Abhay 🇮🇳 (@abhaysrivastavv) July 20, 2023
And they were making fun of us for WTC final? when they have not seen what a test final looks like?
— Abhay 🇮🇳 (@abhaysrivastavv) July 20, 2023
Mubarak chote🎉
— Abhinav Singh (@ProteinEnforcer) July 20, 2023
Oct 24th 2021 – India Has Lost By 10 Wickets Against Pakistan
Nov 10th 2022 – India Has Lost By 10 Wickets Against England
India Has Lost By 10 Wickets in WC Again After The Gap of 2 Year
Congratulations Team India 🇮🇳 👏
— Maze (@uploads_gaming) July 20, 2023
1 min silence for those who don’t know there were only 7 test matches in 365 days and 2 of them are drawn 1 victory and others 4 are lost!!!
152-0— 𝐒 (@Over____Thinker) July 20, 2023
Won a fluke Match after losing 6 Wickets While Chasing 130 😹
— AK🚩 (@Rc18forever) July 20, 2023
Every dog has its day. Feeling happy for Paxtan's win.
— X_ (@spector_X1) July 20, 2023
What a achievement this is 😭
— Akshat (@AkshatOM10) July 20, 2023
Credit goes to Mathews, who dropped saud sakeel Dolly in 130
— Ankit Shukla🇮🇳🇮🇳 (@as2061492) July 20, 2023
