Noman Ali scalped seven wickets to lead Pakistan`s rout of Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs to clinch the second Test inside four days and sweep the series 2-0 on Thursday. The left-arm spinner took the first seven wickets and fast bowler Naseem Shah took the final three to bowl Sri Lanka out for 188 in the evening session in Colombo.
Noman returned career-best figures of 7 for 70 in his 15th Test to hand Pakistan their biggest Test win over Sri Lanka and fourth overall in innings victories. Sri Lanka suffered their heaviest Test defeat at home. “Everyone stepped up and showed hunger to win this series,” skipper Babar Azam said. Pakistan, who won the opening Test by four wickets, declared their first innings on 576-5 after just two overs in the morning session with a blowout lead of 410 runs. Opener Abdullah Shafique stood out with his 201 in an innings that saw three century stands, including a 124-run partnership with Agha Salman, who smashed an unbeaten 132.
Runs came quickly for Pakistan`s batsmen, whose approach had a touch of `Bazball`, the aggressive style devised by England`s coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes.
“Being aggressive was part of the plan, it is something we had discussed before coming here,” said Azam. “We wanted to play positive cricket. So all the credit to the boys. It`s not easy to play spin here but they played very well.”
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Sri Lanka started strongly with an opening stand of 69 until Noman bowled Nishan Madushka for 33 with his first ball of the day and ruled the roost thereafter. Pakistan held all the aces after bundling Sri Lanka out for 166. “The batting unit needed to stand up but 166 in the first innings wasn`t enough,” said skipper Dimuth Karunaratne. “It was a pretty good wicket but we threw away our wickets and we were always chasing from there on.”
With this win, Pakistan not only managed to seal their fifth Test series victory on Sri Lankan soil but also managed to maintain their 100 per cent record in the ICC World Test Championship 2023–2025 points table. After two wins from two matches played so far, Pakistan has secured the maximum number of 24 points and their PCT is 100 per cent, which placed them at the top of the points table.
Meanwhile, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian team, which won the two-match series against the West Indies by a margin of 1-0 earlier this week after the final day washed out due to rain, occupied the second spot with a total of 16 points and about 66.66 per cent of PCT.
Defending champions Australia is the third-placed team with 54.17 per cent PCT, followed by their Ashes rivals England, who have a 29.17 per cent PCT. The West Indies are placed fifth with 16.67 per cent, after they held India to a draw in the second Test. Three teams, namely New Zealand, South Africa, and Bangladesh, have yet to play any Test in the WTC 2023–25 cycle, whereas two consecutive losses to Pakistan have pushed Sri Lanka to the bottom.
(With agency inputs)
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