Pakistan is well-placed to push for victory in the first Test against New Zealand, while England beat Sri Lanka in Kandy by 57 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 series lead.
Pakistan vs New Zealand (1st Test, Day 3)
Jeet Raval and Kane Williamson resumed New Zealand’s second innings and took the score to 86-1 when Williamson was bowled by Yasir Shah for 37 (91 balls, three fours). Ross Taylor then scored a breezy 19 off 19 balls (three fours) before he was trapped leg before by Hasan Ali with the score on 105-3.
Raval followed three runs later, caught behind off Ali for 46 (120 balls, five fours). Henry Nicholls and BJ Watling added 112 for the fifth wicket in a brave display of defiance. The loss of Nicholls, caught-behind off Shah for 55 off 171 balls (three fours, S/R 32.16), signalled a collapse that saw New Zealand drop six wickets for 29 runs in just 11 overs.
Watling was the seventh wicket to fall, trapped leg before by Shah after scoring 59 off 145 balls (5×4, S/R 40.68). The dominance of the Pakistan bowlers over New Zealand was evident in the fact that seven of the New Zealand batters fell bowled or lbw.
Mohammad Abbas went wicketless in an innings for the first time in Tests (21 innings), although the New Zealanders struggled to score runs off him, his 22 overs costing just 31 runs (econ 1.4) and including 10 maidens. The New Zealand wickets were shared five-apiece by Ali (5-45) and Shah (5-110) as they rolled a subdued New Zealand out for 249 off 100.4 overs, leaving their batters to score 176 for victory with two days in hand.
At the close, Pakistan were 37-0, with Imam-ul-Haq on 25 and Mohammad Hafeez eight not out, needing 139 more runs to take the Test.
New Zealand 153 & 249
Pakistan 227 & 37-0
Photo: Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images
Sri Lanka vs England (2nd Test, Day 5)
Sri Lanka started the final day on 226-7 needing 75 runs for victory but, with just three wickets in hand, it was always going to be a tough prospect for the island nation.
Moeen Ali struck twice in three balls in the sixth over of the morning, first removing Sri Lanka’s last hope in the match, Niroshan Dickwella, for 35 off 43 balls, followed two balls later by skipper Suranga Lakmal, bowled for a duck.
Jack Leach took the final wicket when he caught Malinda Pushpakumara off his own bowling for a single, in so doing securing his first Test five-for. Having shared the new ball at the start of the innings, Leach’s final figures of 28-2-83-5 (econ 2.96) put him in strong contention for the Player of the Match award considering his first-innings haul of 3-70, but England skipper Joe Root took that honour after a match-winning second-innings century that gave the England bowlers something to defend.
‘We were very good for the whole game. We lost clusters of wickets but stayed calm and got control back in our favour,’ said Root after the match. ‘We’ve come out saying we wanted to play some bold, courageous cricket, and we’ve worked extremely hard. We want to get to No 1 in the world, keep that drive, and harness that.’
England’s tour of Sri Lanka ends on Friday with the third Test in Colombo, with Sri Lanka having only pride left to play for.
England 290 & 346
Sri Lanka 336 & 243
Photo: Aamir Qureshi/AFP/Getty Images
