GALLE: On Thursday, Sri Lanka levelled the series at 1-1 by thrashing Pakistan by 246 runs in the second Test after losing the first one.
Azam is a tall man, Skipper. In the two-match series, Babar Azam continued his impressive run of form and nearly single-handedly drove the tourists.
After chasing down a Galle record of 342, the team won their first game thanks to Azam’s scores of 119 and 55.
He scored 81 in Pakistan’s monumental 508-run second Test chase, but it was a one-man battle against a motivated Sri Lankan spin attack.
The 27-year-old star batsman, who ranks third in Test batting behind Marnus Labuschagne and Joe Root, has averaged over 63 over the past 12 months.
In both ODI and T20 rankings, he is ranked first.
Azam, a rising Pakistani star, wasn’t the only star among the tourists; opener Abdullah Shafique made the first Test match memorable with a match-winning score of 160 not out.
Azam predicted Shafique, 22, who batted patiently and resolutely as the tourists chased down the Galle record target, would rise to the top.
In the second Test, bowler Naseem Shah, 19, spooked the Sri Lankan batsmen with his express and claimed a match-high five wickets, adding to Pakistan’s steady stream of fast-bowling talent, which is led by Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Turn and pitch
Galle hosted Australia and then Pakistan in four back-to-back Test matches, but the fielding conditions in each match were wildly different, much to the teams’ surprise.
In the second match against Australia, Sri Lanka was defeated by the visitors on a pitch that turned on day four.
Sri Lanka’s spin coach Piyal Wijetunge claimed that on days four and five of the first match, the “wicket went flat” as Pakistan attempted to break the Galle record.
Azam claimed there were “no demons” on the field despite Pakistan appearing confident of chasing down 508 before their batting collapsed in the second game.
King of spin, Jayasuriya
Prabath Jayasuriya, who claimed his fourth five-wicket haul in just his third Test, is now Sri Lanka’s new spin king.
The 30-year-old took 17 wickets in the series and also three times out Azam by confusing the Pakistani batsmen with his left-arm spin.
Jayasuriya has taken 29 wickets in three Test matches since making his debut against Australia earlier this month, but he attributes the haul to bowling partnerships with the help of Ramesh Mendis.
Ramesh, a spinner, took nine wickets in the contest.
Mentally robust Chandimal
With commanding hits that left Pakistan’s bowlers perplexed, Dinesh Chandimal continued his scorching form.
The former captain struck 76 and an unbeaten 94 in the lost-cause first Test, but his 80 in Sri Lanka’s first innings set up their dominance and Thursday’s win.
After being removed as captain in 2017, Chandimal, 32, has been in and out of the Sri Lankan team while maintaining his composure.
In a recent series against Australia, he scored his first double century (206 not out), and he acknowledged that the encouragement of his friends and family had helped him become “mentally strong.”
