Pakistan crumble after Sanga’s 199

AFP/Galle

Double century that was not: Sri Lanka star Kumar Sangakkara celebrates what he thought was a double-century, when his score was actually 199, thanks to a scoreboard error. Sangakkara was left stranded on 199 when the last man was bowled

Kumar Sangakkara was stranded on an unbeaten 199 even as Sri Lanka took charge of the first cricket Test against Pakistan here yesterday. The left-hander’s monumental nine-hour effort saw the hosts recover from 335-5 in the morning session to post 472 in their first innings on the second day. Pakistan were tottering at 48 for five in reply at stumps with seamer Nuwan Kulasekara and off-spinner Suraj Randiv both taking two wickets each off successive deliveries. Kulasekara removed opener Taufeeq Umar and Azhar Ali, while Randiv dismissed skipper Mohamed Hafeez (20) and nightwatchman Saeed Ajmal in gloomy conditions. Asad Shafiq fell to Rangana Herath, leaving veteran Younis Khan unbeaten on 15 with Pakistan still 225 runs away from saving the follow-on. Sangakkara, a 34-year-old veteran of 109 Tests, has eight double hundreds in his 29 three-figure knocks in Test cricket. The left-hander held the innings together after Ajmal claimed his sixth five-wicket haul in 21 Tests to restrict Sri Lanka when the hosts resumed at 300-2. The off-spinner, who had taken both wickets on Friday, struck thrice in the morning session. Ajmal dismissed Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardene for 62, before removing Thilan Samaraweera and Angelo Mathews off successive balls soon after the drinks break. Mahela Jayawardene added seven runs to his overnight score of 55 when he was bowled by Ajmal, ending a 128-run partnership for the third wicket with Sangakkara. Ajmal had Samaraweera stumped by Adnan Akmal for six and beat Mathews in the air to pick up an easy return catch with the fifth and sixth deliveries of his 30th over.

SCORECARDSri Lanka 1st innings (overnight 300-2): T. Paranavitana st Akmal b Ajmal 24 T. Dilshan lbw b Ajmal  101 K. Sangakkara not out  199 M. Jayawardene b Ajmal  62 T. Samaraweera st Akmal b Ajmal  6 A. Mathews c and b Ajmal  0 P. Jayawardene c Akmal b Hafeez   48 S. Randiv c and b Rehman  8 N. Kulasekara c Ayub b Hafeez  0 R. Herath run out  0 N. Pradeep b Hafeez  0 Extras: (b10, lb7, nb2, w5)  24 Total: (all out, 153.2 overs)  472 Fall of wickets: 1-63 (Paranavitana), 2-187 (Dilshan), 3-315 (M. Jayawardene), 4-335 (Samaraweera), 5-335 (Mathews), 6-415 (P. Jayawardene), 7-438 (Randiv), 8-439 (Kulasekara), 9-455 (Herath), 10-472 (Pradeep). Bowling: Gul 27-8-76-0 (nb2, w5), Junaid 18-5-52-0, Hafeez 19.2-3-55-3, Ajmal 46-9-146-5, Rehman 43-7-126-1. Pakistan 1st innings: Mohamed Hafeez lbw b Randiv    20 Taufeeq Umar lbw b Kulasekara 9 Azhar Ali c P.Jayawardene b Kulasekara 0 Younis Khan not out 15 Saeed Ajmal c Paranavitana b Randiv 0 Asad Shafiq c P. Jayawardene b Herath 0 Mohamed Ayub not out 1 Extras: (lb2, w1) 3 Total: (for five wickets, 24 overs)    48 Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Taufeeq), 2-17 (Azhar), 3-43 (Hafeez), 4-43 (Ajmal), 5-44 (Shafiq). Bowling: Kulasekara 7-3-15-2 (w1), Pradeep 4-1-17-0, Herath 8-3-9-1, Mathews 2-2-0-0, Randiv 3-0-5-2 Toss: Sri Lanka Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Steve Davis (AUS) TV umpire: Ranmore Martinesz (SRI) Match referee: David Boon (AUS)