Yasir Shah double leaves Sri Lanka in trouble

Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah grabbed the key wicket of Dinesh Chandimal to leave Sri Lanka fighting to avoid defeat after the fourth day of the first Test in Abu Dhabi yesterday.The prolific wicket-taker took 2-25 as Sri Lanka struggled to 69-4, needing a rearguard action to save the Test. Pakistan will be expecting to push for victory in the opening match of a two-Test series on the fifth and final day.It was tough to negotiate spin on a fourth-day Sheikh Zayed Stadium pitch, but despite a 32nd Test five-wicket haul for veteran Sri Lankan spinner Rangana Herath, Pakistan posted 422 to take a slender three-run lead.Sri Lanka had made 419 in their first innings.At the close, Kusal Mendis was batting on 16, with nightwatchman Suranga Lakmal on two, after a day of fluctuating fortunes.Herath’s 5-93 in 40 overs were well foiled by a brilliant 76 by Test debutant Haris Sohail, as initially it looked as though Sri Lanka would take a first-innings lead. Pakistan then hit back in the second innings through Shah, who first had opener Dimuth Karunaratne caught for 10 and then dismissed first-innings centurion Chandimal, caught at slip, for seven. Sohail followed his responsible knock by claiming Kaushal Silva’s wicket, whom he trapped leg before for 25, while part-timer Asad Shafiq had Lahiru Thirimanne for seven. The 28-year-old Sohail’s impressive Test bow has come despite a career-threatening knee injury which required surgery in 2015. “The last two years were tough for me as there was a lot of talk on my injury,” he said. “But thankfully I am here and played a responsible knock. I was under pressure because we needed to take the lead, so I had to play a responsible knock which I did.”Earlier in the day, Pakistan too were struggling at 316-6 and were in danger of conceding a healthy lead with Herath using all his experience and guile.The 39-year-old left-arm spinner, who now has 394 wickets in 84 Tests, gave his team the much-needed wicket of a resolute Azhar Ali, luring him into an uppish drive which was brilliantly caught at short mid-wicket by a diving Mendis.Azhar’s defiant knock of 85 lasted more than five hours and included four boundaries, but with his dismissal Pakistan’s hopes of building a lead looked slim. But Sohail had other ideas as he added an invaluable 50 for the ninth wicket with tail-ender Hasan Ali to lift Pakistan from 340-8. Sohail hit seven fours and two sixes before holing out to paceman Nuwan Pradeep, who finished with 2-77. Hasan’s whirlwind 25-ball 29 featured three sixes and two fours. The second and final Test - a day-night affair - will be played in Dubai from October 6.SCOREBOARDSri Lanka 1st innings 419Pakistan Ist innings (overnight 266-4)Shan Masood b Herath 59Sami Aslam lbw b Perera 51Azhar Ali c Mendis b Herath 85Asad Shafiq c Thirimanne b Herath 39Babar Azam c Dickwella b Pradeep 28Haris Sohail c Lakmal b Pradeep 76 Sarfraz Ahmed b Lakmal 18Mohammad Amir lbw b Lakmal 4Yasir Shah c Thirimanne b Herath 8Hasan Ali st Dickwella b Herath 29Mohammad Abbas not out 1Extras: (b5, lb9, nb8, w2) 24 Total: (all out, 162.3 overs) 422 Fall of wickets: 1-114 (Aslam), 2-116 (Masood), 3-195 (Shafiq), 4-266 (Azam), 5-294 (Ali), 6-316 (Ahmed), 7-326 (Amir), 8-340 (Shah), 9-390 (Hasan)Bowling: Lakmal 22-5-42-2 (1nb, 1w), Pradeep 25.3-1-77-2 (6nb, Perera 37-10-92-1 (1nb), Sundakan 35-7-98-0 (1w), Herath 40-12-93-5, Karunaratne 3-1-6-0Sri Lanka 2nd inningsD. Karunaratne c Masood b Shah 10 K. Silva lbw b Sohail 25L. Thirimanne c Sarfraz b Shafiq 7K. Mendis not out 16D. Chandimal c Shafiq b Shah 7S. Lakmal not out 2Extras: (b1, nb1) 2Total: (for four wkts; 40 overs) 69Fall of wickets: 1-20 (Karunaratne), 2-33 (Thirimanne), 3-51 (Silva), 4-65 (Chandimal)Bowling: Amir 7-2-14-0, Abbas 6-2-7-0 (1nb), Shah 14-2-25-2, Hasan 4.2-0-8-0, Shafiq 3.4-0-7-1, Sohail 5-2-7-1Match situation: Sri Lanka lead Pakistan by 66 runs with six second-innings wickets remaining.