Sarfaraz Ahmed, the wicketkeeper for Pakistan, reached 3000 runs in Test cricket on Monday, adding yet another accomplishment to his résumé.
Sarfaraz completes 3000 runs in Tests: When Sarfaraz Ahmed passed eight runs in the first innings of the ongoing first Test against Sri Lanka, he reached the milestone.
As Pakistan struggled at 73/4 and dealt with the loss of their skipper Babar Azam, the team decided to send the wicketkeeper batsman to the crease.
Prior to Prabath Jayasuriya trapping him between his legs and ending their brief partnership in which they had added 28 runs to the total, he had put on a brief partnership with Saud Shakeel.
With the aid of three boundaries, Sarfaraz Ahmed was able to score 17 runs off of 15 deliveries.
Pakistan was five down for 115 against Sri Lanka’s 312 when this story was filed.
With only three runs on the board, the touring team got off to a terrible start to their innings as they lost their reliable opener Imam-ul-Haq (1).
Sri Lanka swiftly initiated a spin attack with Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis bowling in tandem as Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood’s 44-run partnership came to an end.
Jayasuriya dismissed Shafique to halt the promising combination, while Mendis subsequently removed Masood due to his rapid scoring.
The left-handed batter quickly reached 39 points off 30 pitches by hitting five extra-long balls and a six.
Dhananjaya de Silva’s Century and Sri Lanka’s Resilience: Highlights of Pakistan vs. Sri Lanka Test Match
Dhananjaya de Silva scored a valiant century for Sri Lanka earlier in the first session, but Pakistan bowled them out for 312.
With Dhananjaya de Silva just six runs short of his century as Sri Lanka resumed play at 242/6 overnight, they could only add 70 runs for their final four wickets.
The right-handed batsman, who helped Sri Lanka recover from a poor start alongside Angelo Mathews, kept up his momentum and recorded his expertly produced 10th century.
De Silva briefly partnered with Ramesh Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya during the first session of Day 2 before Naseem Shah finally got rid of him.
The right-handed batsman led Sri Lanka in scoring with 122 runs off 214 balls while slamming 12 boundaries and three sixes.
After losing their backbone, Sri Lanka received a crucial boost thanks to No. 11 Vishwa Fernando’s incredible 28-run cameo.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, and Naseem each took three wickets for Pakistan, and Salman Ali Agha claimed one victim.