Cricket

Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka 2023

Pakistan’s Abdullah Shafique created history on Day 3 of second Test against Sri Lanka at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo. Shafique became the first visiting opener since West Indies’ Chris Gayle to score a double century on Sri Lankan soil. Gayle had scored 333 at Galle in 2010. Only other visiting opener to score a Test double ton is India’s Virender Sehwag who did it at Galle in 2008. &nbsp;Shafique is only the second opener to score a double Test ton at the venue. Former Sri Lankan captain Marvan Attapattu scored an unbeaten 2001 against England in 2001. &nbsp;The previous highest score by a Pakistan opener on Sri Lankan soil was 196 by Mohammad Hafeez at Colombo in 2012. In addition, the 23-year-old is the third-youngest Pakistan batter to score a double century in Test cricket.<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">DOUBLE HUNDRED FOR ABDULLAH SHAFIQUE!! <a href="https://t.co/9bTjO2nkeh">pic.twitter.com/9bTjO2nkeh</a>— consecutive psl champions (@LQ_Enjoyer) <a href="https://twitter.com/LQ_Enjoyer/status/1684148963136671745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><h3>Shafique plays the perfect anchor role &nbsp;</h3>Starting the day at 178/2, Shafique got to his century from 147 deliveries. This is his fourth Test hundred. In the first session, skipper Babar Azam got trapped in front of the wickets by Prabath Jayasuriya. Azam scored 39 runs from 75 balls. This was the sixth time Azam got dismissed by Jayasuriya. No more wickets fell in the first session as Saud Shakeel joined Shafique in the middle.&nbsp; &nbsp;The opener got to his 150 from 235 deliveries. After the new ball was taken, Shakeel got to his half-century but lost his wicket right after to Asitha Fernando. Shakeel scored 57 runs from 110 Shakeel became the first batter to score more than fifty runs in first seven matches of Test career. Sarfaraz Ahmed came out to bat but suffered concussion.&nbsp; &nbsp;Agha Salman took the aggressive route whereas Shafique batted patiently. At the end of second session, Shafique was 10 runs away from the double century. After the tea break, Salman got to his half-century from 62 balls. Few overs later, Shafique got to his maiden double Test ton from 322 deliveries. He was dismissed by left-arm spinner Jayasuriya. Shafique scored 201 runs from 326 deliveries including 19 fours and four sixes.&nbsp; &nbsp;After Shafique's wicket, concussion substitute Mohammad Rizwan walked out to bat. Salman got to his second Test hundred from 123 balls. At the end of the day, Pakistan were 563/5. Salman remained unbeaten for 132 off 148 balls. On the other end, Rizwan scored 37 runs from 61 deliveries. &nbsp;MORE ON SPORTS TAK:<a href="https://m.thesportstak.com/cricket-news/ashes-2023-ricky-ponting-rules-out-james-anderson-for-oval-test-against-australia-wants-josh-tongue-to-be-considered">Ashes 2023: Ricky Ponting rules out Anderson for Oval Test against Australia, wants this bowler to be considered</a><a href="https://m.thesportstak.com/cricket-news/ind-vs-wi-zaheer-khan-wanted-ravichandran-ashwin-to-be-adjudged-man-of-the-series-instead-of-mohammed-siraj">IND vs WI: Zaheer Khan wanted this Indian player to be adjudged ‘Man of the Series’ instead of Siraj</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://m.thesportstak.com/cricket-news/shahid-afridi-targets-india-womens-team-captain-harmanpreet-kaur-for-her-on-field-outburst-against-bangladesh">Shahid Afridi targets India women's team captain Harmanpreet Kaur for her on-field outburst against Bangladesh</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Pakistan’s Abdullah Shafique created history on Day 3 of second Test against Sri Lanka at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo.

pakistan-tour-of-sri-lanka-11-jul-2023

Pakistan's Abdullah Shafique becomes first overseas opener since Chris Gayle to achieve massive feat in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of Babar Azam-led Pakistan on Day 4 of second Test. After a terrible batting display, Sri Lanka lost by an innings and 222 runs, their heaviest defeat at home in the format. Noman Ali’s seven-fer brought Sri Lankan batting lineup to their knees as they could only last little over 67 overs on Day 4. &nbsp;Starting the day at 563/5, Pakistan batted for just two overs. Mohammad Rizwan in the second over of the day hit three fours in the 13-run over to complete his half-century. Skipper Babar declared the innings at 576/5 with a massive 412-run lead in the bag. On the other end, Salman remained unbeaten for 132 off 154 balls. He did not score a single run on Day 4. &nbsp;Facing an uphill battle, Sri Lankan openers got off to a nervy start. Just when they looked settled in the middle, Babar introduced left-arm spinner Noman into the attack. He got the wicket off the first ball of his spell. Nishan Madushka got bowled after scoring 33 runs. The 69-run opening partnership was broken. No more wickets fell in the first session with Sri Lanka’s score 81/1 after 25 overs.&nbsp; &nbsp;Dimuth Karunaratne missed his half-century as he got caught at forward short leg. The southpaw scored 41 runs from 61 balls including six fours. Noman went on a rampage. Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Sadeera Samarawickrama fell to the 36-year-old. After the second session, Sri Lanka were 143/6 and an innings defeat looked certain.&nbsp; &nbsp;Experienced Angelo Mathews ressisted the visitors and got to his patient half-century from 114 deliveries. He got good support from Ramesh Mendis but once again Noman did the trick. Mendis got stumped and the partnership came to an end. Then, Naseem Shah got rid of the tailenders as they all got out without troubling the scorers. Mathews remained stranded on one end as Sri Lanka got all out for 188. Mathews scored 63 runs from 127 deliveries. &nbsp;Noman surpassed Yasir Shah and registered the best bowling figures by a Pakistan bowler in Sri Lanka in an innings. He is only behind South Africa's Keshav Maharaj who took nine wickets in an innings in 2018. &nbsp;Earlier, Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique scored his maiden Test double ton after rain played spoilsport on Day 2. The opener was adjudged ‘Player of the match’ for the 201-run knock. Pakistan's mammoth first innings score also included half-centuries from Shan Masood, Saud Shakeel, Rizwan and an unbeaten century from Salman. &nbsp;In the first innings, Sri Lanka's top four batters failed to make a mark. Silva was the top-scorer with a 68-ball 57 as the hosts got all out for 166. &nbsp;MORE ON SPORTS TAK:<a href="https://m.thesportstak.com/cricket-news/pakistan-abdullah-shafique-becomes-first-overseas-opener-since-chris-gayle-double-century-sri-lanka">Pakistan's Abdullah Shafique becomes first overseas opener since Chris Gayle to achieve massive feat in Sri Lanka</a><a href="https://m.thesportstak.com/cricket-news/pakistan-saud-shakeel-becomes-first-batter-in-146-year-old-test-cricket-history-50-plus-first-7-matches">Record Alert: Pakistan's Saud Shakeel becomes first batter to achieve this feat in 146-year-old Test cricket history</a>

Sri Lanka faced a humiliating defeat at the hands of Babar Azam-led Pakistan on Day 4 of second Test.

Babar Azam's brigade hands Sri Lanka their biggest ever defeat at home, win by an innings and 222 runs to complete series whitewash

Pakistan's middle-order batter Saud Shakeel has entered the record books of Test cricket. Shakeel has become the first batter in Test cricket history to register more than 50 runs in each of his first seven Tests. Shakeel achieved the feat on Day 3 of second Test against Sri Lanka at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo.&nbsp; &nbsp;Salman made his Test debut against England and registered scores of 37 and 76. In the following two Tests, he had scores of 63, 94 and 23, 53. In the two-Test series against New Zealand he scored 22 and 55 in the first game. In the second Test, he scored an unbeaten 125 followed by 32. In the first Test against Sri Lanka he scored an unbeaten 208 followed by a 30-run knock. &nbsp;Shakeel scored 57 runs in the ongoing second Test to get the record in his name. He scored 57 runs from 110 deliveries including six fours. Shakeel got dismissed lbw by Asitha Fernando. The 27-year-old shared a 109-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Abdullah Shafique who went on to score his maiden double Test hundred. &nbsp;Shakeel also made a massive leap in ICC Test batter rankings. He jumped 12 spots to 15th position. Shakeel has 691 points, 42 less than India's Virat Kohli who is ranked 14th after a century in the second Test against West Indies. &nbsp;The southpaw has an excellent average in Test cricket as well. From 13 innings, he has scored 875 runs at an average of 87.5 including two centuries and six half-centuries. &nbsp;Apart from Shakeel's massive Test record, Pakistan opener Shafique scored 201. He became the second visiting opener to score a Test double century on Sri Lankan soil after West Indies' Chris Gayle.&nbsp; &nbsp;On the other hand, Agha Salman became the third Pakistan batter to score a Test ton at no.7 on Sri Lankan soil. Izamam-ul-Haq did it first in 1994 in Kandy. Two decades later, Sarfaraz Ahmed repeated the feat. He remained unbeaten on 132. On Day 4, he will need 20 more runs to register the highest score by a no.7 Test batter in Sri Lanka. &nbsp;MORE ON SPORTS TAK:<a href="https://m.thesportstak.com/cricket-news/ashes-2023-ricky-ponting-rules-out-james-anderson-for-oval-test-against-australia-wants-josh-tongue-to-be-considered">Ashes 2023: Ricky Ponting rules out Anderson for Oval Test against Australia, wants this bowler to be considered</a><a href="https://m.thesportstak.com/cricket-news/ind-vs-wi-zaheer-khan-wanted-ravichandran-ashwin-to-be-adjudged-man-of-the-series-instead-of-mohammed-siraj">IND vs WI: Zaheer Khan wanted this Indian player to be adjudged ‘Man of the Series’ instead of Siraj</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://m.thesportstak.com/cricket-news/shahid-afridi-targets-india-womens-team-captain-harmanpreet-kaur-for-her-on-field-outburst-against-bangladesh">Shahid Afridi targets India women's team captain Harmanpreet Kaur for her on-field outburst against Bangladesh</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Pakistan's middle-order batter Saud Shakeel has entered the record books of Test cricket.

Record Alert: Pakistan's Saud Shakeel becomes first batter to achieve this feat in 146-year-old Test cricket history

Former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed suffered a nasty blow on the helmet on Day 3 of second Test against Sri Lanka at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo. As Sarfaraz suffered concussion, Mohammad Rizwan has been named as his like-for-like replacement.&nbsp; &nbsp;Sarfaraz walked out to bat after Saud Shakeel’s wicket. On the first ball, he walked down the track against Asitha Fernando. The ball hit him flush on the helmet and went towards the boundary. After the initial concussion test, he continued to bat on.&nbsp; &nbsp;He hit a couple of boundaries and survived a run out chance as well. In the over after drinks break, he hit Dilshan Madushanka for a boundary as well. But Sarfaraz removed his helmet and called for physio. He had to leave the field as the physio did not think it was safe for him to continue batting. He scored 14 runs from 22 balls. &nbsp;After Sarfaraz walked off the ground, Agha Salman came in to bat. Abdullah Shafique and Salman shared a 149-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Meanwhile, Rizwan was named as Sarfaraz's concussion substitute.<div class="raw-html-embed"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet">Important to note that Rizwan left a high paying contract with GT20 Canada for this moment. I remember Express News &amp; Cricinfo running a campaign that he will excuse himself from playing SL series to cash in on his T20 contract but here we are! <a href="https://t.co/aEGGGCVU1E">pic.twitter.com/aEGGGCVU1E</a>— Israr Ahmed Hashmi (@IamIsrarHashmi) <a href="https://twitter.com/IamIsrarHashmi/status/1684153433941770242?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 26, 2023</a></blockquote> <script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>Shafique scored his maiden Test double ton. He scored 201 runs from 326 deliveries including 19 fours and four sixes. The opener was dismissed by Prabath Jayasuriya in the 114th over of the innings. &nbsp;After Shafique's wicket, Rizwan came in to bat. He hit a six off Jayasuriya as well. The partnership between Rizwan and Salman took Pakistan past 500. Also, Salman brought up his second Test hundred. He took 123 deliveries to reach the three figures. Rizwan remained unbeaten for 37 off 61 balls at the end of Day 3's play. &nbsp;Despite rain playing spoilsport on Day 2, Pakistan have taken a sizeable lead of 397 runs over hosts who got all out for 166 as Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed picked up three-fer and four-fer respectively. &nbsp;MORE ON SPORTS TAK:<a href="https://m.thesportstak.com/cricket-news/ashes-2023-ricky-ponting-rules-out-james-anderson-for-oval-test-against-australia-wants-josh-tongue-to-be-considered">Ashes 2023: Ricky Ponting rules out Anderson for Oval Test against Australia, wants this bowler to be considered</a><a href="https://m.thesportstak.com/cricket-news/ind-vs-wi-zaheer-khan-wanted-ravichandran-ashwin-to-be-adjudged-man-of-the-series-instead-of-mohammed-siraj">IND vs WI: Zaheer Khan wanted this Indian player to be adjudged ‘Man of the Series’ instead of Siraj</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <a href="https://m.thesportstak.com/cricket-news/shahid-afridi-targets-india-womens-team-captain-harmanpreet-kaur-for-her-on-field-outburst-against-bangladesh">Shahid Afridi targets India women's team captain Harmanpreet Kaur for her on-field outburst against Bangladesh</a>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed suffered a nasty blow on the helmet on Day 3 of second Test against Sri Lanka at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo.

Sarfaraz Ahmed hit on helmet off first ball, Mohammad Rizwan steps in as concussion substitute

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