| Sri Lanka posts a mammoth 644 for seven before declaring; Pakistan has a tough job on hand |
WELL DONE SKIPPER: Mahela Jayawardene is congratulated by Thilan Samaraweera after the Sri Lankan captain reached his double century. Samaraweera, too, made a double hundred. KARACHI: Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera smashed double hundreds during a world record stand of 437 as Sri Lanka left Pakistan with a mountain to climb in the opening Test here on Sunday.
Jayawardene ended on 240 and Samaraweera struck a career-best 231 as Sri Lanka declared its first innings at 644 for seven, their best ever total against Pakistan, on the second day at the National Stadium.
Pakistan, which must score 445 to avoid the follow-on in its first Test in 14 months, was 44 for one at stumps with debutant Khurram Manzoor on 18 and Younis Khan yet to score.
Twin threatsWith the twin threats of Ajantha Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan looming large on a pitch likely to take spin, Pakistan’s task looks daunting.
Muralitharan gave signs of what is in store when he dismissed opener Salman Butt for 23 in the penultimate over to underline a dominant day for the tourist.
Skipper Jayawardene and Samaraweera, who came together on Saturday with their team score on 177 for three, punished the new-look Pakistan attack. Their partnership was the eighth best for any wicket in Test history.
Batting with authorityThe overnight pair batted with authority to beat the previous best fourth-wicket stand of 411 between England’s Peter May and Colin Cowdrey against the West Indies at Birmingham in 1957.
Resuming at 406 for three, the pair also beat Sri Lanka’s previous best fourth-wicket stand 240, set by Asanka Gurusinha and Arjuna Ranatunga against Pakistan in Colombo in 1986.
The partnership also took Sri Lanka past its highest Test total against Pakistan bettering the 528 at Lahore in 2002. Samaraweera improved his previous highest Test score of 142 against England at Colombo in 2003.
The two batted through all but two overs in the first two sessions before three wickets fell at the score of 614.
Jayawardene fell when he miscued a sweep off Shoaib Malik and was caught one-handed by a diving Kamran Akmal behind the stumps.
The Sri Lankan skipper hit 32 boundaries during his 531-minute stay at the crease. Samaraweera was bowled by leg-spinner Danish Kaneria after hitting 31 boundaries in his knock. Kaneria finished with figures of three for 170.
Maharoof to returnSri Lanka pace bowler Farveez Maharoof had to return home from Pakistan on Sunday after sustaining a groin injury during training. Maharoof said he was extremely disappointed to go out of the Test series in such a manner. “I am extremely disappointed. I was looking forward to this series. As I have not played too much Test cricket recently,” he said before leaving.
Sri Lankan team officials said they had asked for a substitute from the selectors back home but nothing was decided as yet.
Maharoof said the series was also important for him as all the players were looking forward to giving their outgoing captain Mahela Jayawardene a winning farewell as captain after the series. — Agencies
SCOREBOARD
Sri Lanka — 1st innings: B. Warnapura c Misbah b Arafat 59, N. Paranavitana c Misbah b Gul 0, K. Sangakkara c Misbah b Kaneria 70, M. Jayawardene c Akmal b Malik 240, T. Samaraweera b Kaneria 231, T. Dilshan c Akmal b Malik 0, P. Jayawardene b Kaneria 18, C. Vaas (not out) 12; Extras (lb-4, w-1, nb-9): 14; Total (for seven wkts. decl. in 155.2 overs): 644.
Fall of wickets: 1-3, 2-93, 3-177, 4-614, 5-614, 6-614, 7-644.
Pakistan bowling: Gul 24-2-92-1, Sohail Khan 21-2-131-0, Arafat 26-2-90-1, Malik 36-3-140-2, Kaneria 46.2-5-170-3, Younis 1-0-6-0, Butt 1-0-11-0.
Pakistan — 1st innings: K. Manzoor (batting)18, S. Butt c Jayawardene b Muralitharan 23, Younis Khan (batting) 0; Extras (nb-3): 3; Total (for one wkt. in 22 overs): 44.
Fall of wicket: 1-44.
Sri Lanka bowling: Vaas 8-2-11-0, Fernando 5-0-22-0, Mendis 6-2-10-0, Muralitharan 3-2-1-1.
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