Sri Lankan spinners Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis combined took nine wickets on the fifth and final day of the second test against Pakistan in Galle, which helped the hosts to a 246-run series-leveling victory.
Left-arm spinner Jayasuriya, who last month took 12 wickets against Australia on his test debut to lead Sri Lanka to another series-tying victory at the same location, recorded his fourth five-wicket haul in only his third test.
On Thursday, while chasing the target of 508, Pakistan got off to a bad start when Imam-ul-Haq was bowled by Mendis for 49 in the third over of the day after they had resumed on 89-1.
But with a third-wicket stand of 79 runs, Mohammad Rizwan and Captain Babar Azam, who top-scored for Pakistan with a tenacious knock of 81, increased their prospects of a draw.
Jayasuriya then bowled Rizwan for 37 when he misjudged a straight delivery and was out without playing a shot. This changed the match in Sri Lanka’s favor.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam said it was disappointing to see his side collapsed so early on the final day in Galle and miss out on an opportunity to win their second successive series in Sri Lanka.
After leveling this series, Sri Lanka has moved up to the number three spot in ICC world championship, whereas Pakistan now stands at number five.
