Centurion Abdullah Shafique led Pakistan to a record run chase at the Galle International Stadium against Sri Lanka in the first Test match on Wednesday. The hosts won the match by four wickets.

“Pakistan balled very well,” Sri Lankan Captain Dimuth Karunaratne said at the prize distribution ceremony. “I think we should have put pressure while balling.”

To a query, he said that playing 100 test matches was remarkable and the team try its best in the next game.

Pakistan’s all-format skipper Babar Azam gave the credit for the victory to Shafique and the tailenders. He added that the good start in fourth innings made the basis for the chase.

He thanked bowlers Yasir Shah and Naseem Shah for not allowing the hosts to make more runs. Azam added that his side was trying to take early wickets and put pressure on the team

“When I and Abdullah Shafique were we tried to build a partnership,” he said, “I had full confidence on Shafique.”

Shafique was given the player of the match award for his performance. The Babar Azam-led side now leads the series with 1-0.

Earlier, the match was delayed for a while as rain arrived when the hosts were 11 runs short of victory in the match.

Pakistan was 331/6, with opener Abdullah Shafique not out at 154 and Mohammad Nawaz at 12, before the rain.

Day 5 of the Galle Test started with Shafique and wicketkeeper batter Muhammad Rizwan on the crease, as the tourists planned to chase the 342-run target.

The series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2021-23. Pakistan is ranked at four, eight points behind Sri Lanka, at the points table. South Africa is leading the chart with 60 points and a percentage of 71.43.

Shafique and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan made a 50-run partnership. But, Rizwan got out at 40 after getting out on Prabath Jayasuriya delivery. The opener was then joined by Agha Salman who made a 22-run partnership with him.

In-form Prabath Jayasuriya four-for is keeping alive Sri Lanka’s hopes in this match. The hosts stood at 298/5 before lunch.

‘Job not done yet’

“I know the job is not done yet,” Shafique said in a video message on Tuesday after the end of day four of the game. It was shared by the Pakistan Cricket Board on Twitter.

“We are in a good situation and we will try to win the game the next day,” he said, “we had planned to chase the game and play session by session [dividing the target into different parts].”

Shafique said that preparation was a key to his performance. The right-handed batter added that the team had decided to go after the hosts main bowler, Prabath Jayasuriya.

Day 4

Pakistan lost two wickets but opener Shafique stood strong on 77 on day four of the opening Test against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

The visitors reached 147-2 at tea, still needing 195 runs to take the lead in the two-match series at Galle, where the highest successful fourth-innings chase is 268 by Sri Lanka against New Zealand in 2019.