However, the biggest question of the day was whether Virender Sehwag, who was batting on 284 at the start of the day, would be able to score his third triple hundred and overtake the great Sir Donald Bradman’s record of triple centuries. But it was not to be on this day. In the fourth over of the day, Muttiah Muralitharan bowled one up to Sehwag which dipped on him a little bit, but for a change Sehwag played in front of his body and just scooped it back to Murali, who took the catch on the second attempt.

Sehwag added nine to his overnight score of 284, becoming the fourth man to be dismissed in the 290s. Once Sehwag was dismissed, things went back to normal again. The scoring rate came back to sanity and the bowlers were no longer looking rookies but all through, India kept on moving towards a huge lead. Rahul Dravid (74), Sachin Tendulkar (53) and VVS Laxman (62) scored half centuries and threw it away but skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni was in no mood to make that mistake. He notched up his third test hundred (second in this series) declaring the innings as soon as he reached the milestone, leaving Sri Lanka with three overs to bat in the day.

The startling fact about India’s batting on Day 3 was that despite half centuries by Tendulkar and Laxman and a century by Dhoni, they managed only 283 runs throughout the day. Sehwag alone had scored 284 runs yesterday!

When Sehwag was dismissed for 293, India were already ahead by 63 runs. Dravid was the next to go, adding just 12 to his overnight score of 62, as he edged one from Welegedara to the keeper. That brought Tendulkar and Laxman together and the proceedings slowed down considerably as both of them made sure that India needed to bat just once in the match.

As the batsmen tried to settle down, the most relieved man was Muttiah Muralitharan, who got some time to settle into a rhythm. He bowled round the stumps and tried to cramp the batsmen for room. Murali even managed to bowl a maiden — his first in 75 overs since the second innings in Ahmedabad. Just before lunch, the run rate came down below five for the first time in the game.

Just after lunch, Tendulkar notched up his 54^th test fifty. Laxman too, started to play a few shots as he took 12 runs off one over from Welegedara. The partnership was broken in the next over when Nuwan Kulasekara went through Tendulkar’s defence with an off-cutter.

Laxman (62) went soon after, looking for a big shot off Murali and done in by a doosra. Herath then accounted for Yuvraj (23) as the left hander sliced one to mid-off. Dhoni, though, carried on the charge batting with the tailenders. And no sooner did he deposit a ball from Herath, just a few overs before the close of play, on top of the Brabourne roof to complete his hundred, India declared with three overs remaining in the day.

Sri Lankan openers played out the three overs without any hiccups. At stumps on Day 3, Sri Lanka were 11 for 0, still needing 322 runs to make India bat again.

On Saturday, when the fourth day’s play begins, each delivery bowled, every wicket taken, will be with the sole intention of wrapping this Test up as soon as possible. India are now on the brink of the Number One spot in the ICC Test Rankings and they are may just reach there in style.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka 393 and 11 for 0 trail India 726 for 9 dec. (Sehwag 293, Dhoni 100*, Vijay 87, Dravid 74, Laxman 62, Tendulkar 53) by 322 runs

“I’m absolutely satisfied with the score,” said the in-form left-hander who hit a sublime 167 and starred in a blistering 233-run opening stand with Virender Sehwag on Tuesday. “Batting second, 650 would be a difficult score to chase. The way wicket has started behaving, stroke-making would be difficult for the Sri Lankans if we stick to our plan. From here, only one team can lose the match and it is Sri Lanka, if we bowl well.”

“We have seen the last session and I think if we can bowl well, there can be result. When we first saw the wicket, we knew something would happen even though we didn’t know what. The wicket will further deteriorate and if we can bowl in the areas we should, we are the favourites in this match,” he explained.

Gambhir said that the Indian spinners would be encouraged looking at the performance by Rangana Herath who picked up a five-for to finish off the Indian innings adding that it augured well for the Indian spinners too.

“That is good news for us. The wicket will get only tougher and shot-making would be difficult. To chase 650 you have to first score those 450 runs to avoid follow on and 450 is lot of runs on this track,” added Gambhir.

The star opener felt Mahendra Singh Dhoni won an important toss, for it wouldn’t have been easy to bat in the fourth innings against a Sri Lankan team which had three spinners — Herath, Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis — in their ranks.

“It was a good toss to win. We could bat the first two days on a flat track when the pitch had virtually nothing for the bowlers. And now it is showing signs of turns and would deteriorate further. They have three spinners and it is good that we would not be batting in the fourth innings,” he said.

Gambhir hit his fourth Test century in as many Tests, which made Virender Sehwag call him the best opener India had after Sunil Gavaskar.

Asked about the secret of his golden run over the last couple of years, Gambhir said, “I have not changed my approach. I think it’s because I feel more secure now. I have been having this feeling since winning the (2007) Twenty20 World Cup and the confidence I got from my captain, coach and my teammates,” he said.

Downplaying Sehwag’s praise, Gambhir added, “Coming from him, it means more and is a great feeling. Had it come from anybody else, I would not have taken it seriously. These statements don’t matter, what matters is doing well and giving 100 percent.”

Gambhir also said that he felt bad for the bowlers considering the placid tracks that are being churned out regularly and cricket needed pitches which offered an equal opportunity to both batsmen and bowlers.

“We have seen in Ahmedabad that it was a tough job both for the spinners and the pacers. Bhajji (Harbhajan Singh) and Amit (Mishra) did their best and my heart goes for them. Even Murali, world’s greatest spinner, went wicket-less for a day. I think we should have wickets which will offer even contest between the bat and the ball,” he added.

Gambhir played another marathon innings, playing 110 deliveries for 40 runs on the final day while Sachin made 100 of 211 deliveries. The intentions of Indian batsmen of playing for a draw were very clear right from the beginning and they did full justice to the job given to them. In fact ,by the time the matched reached its final session, the only question left to be answered was whether Sachin would complete his 43^rd test century or not.

Sachin, during his long vigil at the crease, also crossed another milestone. He became the first cricketer to cross 30,000 international runs. VVS Laxman too, chipped in with a gritty half century (51 not out off 160 balls).

India began the final day with 8 wickets in hand and 90 overs to bat out while Sri Lanka needed to take 8 wickets to register their first test win on Indian soil. But the tourists couldn’t manage to break their 14-match streak as the Indian batsmen played with a lot of grit and determination. Resuming at 190 for 2, 144 runs behind Sri Lanka on the first innings, India ended with 412 for 4 with Tendulkar, Gambhir and Laxman scoring runs.

Two Indian batsmen were dismissed on the final day — Amit Mishra (24), who surprised everyone with his batting abilities, doing an excellent job in the unaccustomed nightwatchman’s role, and Gambhir who literally threw his wicket after notching up his seventh Test century. Mishra stuck to his task for over 45 minutes after India started the day 144 runs behind the Lankans at 190 for two. The leg-spinner was eventually dismissed by Angelo Mathews, caught brilliantly at leg gully by Tillakaratne Dilshan.

Gambhir, who had batted solidly from till then, opened up once he was joined by Tendulkar and raced to his hundred by hitting left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for two fours before he glanced Mathews to the rope. It was his first hundred against Sri Lanka.

India lost Gambhir in the sixth over of the second session. It was the Delhi left-hander’s third hundred this year in as many Tests since making his marathon match-saving 137 against New Zealand at Napier in March. Gambir, who was awarded the ICC Test Player of the Year, faced 230 balls and struck 13 fours in his marathon six and a half-hour stay.

Tendulkar was joined by Laxman and the duo ensured that there were no more hiccups adding an unbeaten 137-run fifth wicket partnership.

Both the teams now head to Kanpur for the second Test starting on November 24.

It wasn’t really an ideal advertisement for test cricket which is struggling to hold its ground in the wake of the growing popularity of twenty20 cricket. Nearly 1600 runs were scored in the match, with just 21 wickets falling over the five days of the game. Seven centuries were scored in the game which is a record in the sub-continent.

Brief Scores:

India 426 (Dravid 177, Dhoni 110, Welegedara 4-87) and 412 for 4 (Gambhir 114, Tendulkar 100*) drew with Sri Lanka 760 for 7 decl. (Jayawardene 275, Prasanna 154*, Dilshan 112)

Man of the Match: Mahela Jayawardene

“He (Tendulkar) has been brilliant. To have survived the tough test of public expectation in India is something, which should be commended. The runs (he has scored) are an added bonus. He’s probably the greatest player to play the game in the modern era and compares with the (Donald) Bradmans and all the legends of the past,” Sangakkara said. “We run out of superlatives when talking about Sachin. He keeps getting better and better. Being that consistent under such pressure (from fans), especially at home, is a wonderful thing.”

When asked whether Sri Lanka has any set game plans in the upcoming series to counter the little master, Sangakkara said that they can make as many plans as they want but they hardly seem to work against someone of the calibre of Tendulkar. “A lot of people have game plans (for Tendulkar). We have to see what works. When a batsman is scoring runs and doing the way Sachin is doing, he will be a threat to any team. It’s nothing new. I have been answering this question over the years (whether he would be a threat). The answer is always yes,” he said.

Sri Lanka, who have played 14 test matches in India since the first time they toured here in 1982, has never won a test match in India and Sangakkara said he and his teammates would do everything to break the jinx but the hosts would not be without any pressure either. “We have to wait and see how India comes out of this loss (against Australia), especially at home. We are under no pressure. We have not won a Test here before and we are here to change things here. The pressure is on India to keep their home series record intact,” Sangakkara said at a media conference after arriving in the wee hours on Sunday. “It’s a great option to have three spinners with someone like Angelo Mathews who is bowling so well. He gives us that flexibility as a frontline fast bowler and batsman. It frees us one spot if the wicket shows us that three spinners are a possibility.”

However, he added that on a regular basis his team went in with three fast bowlers and two spin bowlers. “Most often, we like to play three fast bowlers and two spinners. The Angelo Mathews factor gives us the edge of having a proper all-rounder in the side,” he explained.

Sangakkara maintained that there was no mystery left to any player in world cricket these days with the video analysis that’s available. “Words like mystery are exaggerated. You are a mystery only in your first series with the sort of video analysis available. You have to work harder later on,” he said.

Lankan mystery bowler Ajantha Mendis had troubled most of the top Indian batsmen when the last series between the two outfits was held in the Emerald Island. Sangakkara praised left-arm spinner Rangana Herath for the progress he has made recently, especially in the series at home against New Zealand and Pakistan where he outshone not only Mendis but also world record-setting wicket-taker Muttiah Muralitharan.

“Herath is a great player. He’s a positive guy who tries his heart out. Such a good spinner had to play third fiddle to Murali and Mendis which has made him hungrier. Against New Zealand and Pakistan he out-bowled Murali and Mendis by a long way. He’s a very important player and we hope he can replicate that performance,” the Lanka captain said.

Sangakkara said his team had two wicket-keeping options in Prasanna Jayawardene and Kaushal Silva and hoped his squad would settle down before the first Test in Ahmedabad commencing on November 16.

“Kaushal Silva, who is understudy to Prasanna Jayawardene, has scored a huge amount of runs in domestic cricket. He gives us an extra option. But we have to settle down very soon into a winning combination before the Ahmedabad Test,” he said.

The Lankans are to open the tour with a three-day side game against the Board President’s XI at the MCA’s Recreation Centre in the Bandra-Kurla Complex from November 11. They are scheduled to play the second and third Tests at Kanpur and Mumbai before clashing with the hosts in two T20 Internationals and a best-of-five ODI series.

Kandamby has recently been performing very well in limited-overs matches for Sri Lanka, while Pushpakumara and Jayasinghe are experienced domestic cricketers.

Pushpakumara has scored 241 runs in 18 domestic twenty20 matches at a strike rate of 106. Pushpakumara’s offspin bowling has captured 26 wickets. He returns to the national squad after having failed to play a single game on a 2000 tour to South Africa. Jayasinghe, a 31-year-old batsman, has a strike rate of 135 in a 22-match domestic twenty20 career.

The tour starts with a three-day practice against an Indian all-star XI on Nov. 11, followed by three Tests, five ODIs and two twenty20 games.

Squads:

Test: Kumar Sangakkara (Captain), Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Tharanga Paranavitana, Thilan Samaraweera, Anjelo Mathews, Thilina Kandamby, Prasanna Jayawardena, Kaushal Silva, Chanaka Welegedara, Thilan Thushara Mirando, Nuwan Kulasekera, Dammika Prasad, Rangana Herath, Ajantha Mendis.

One-Day International: Kumar Sangakkara (Captain), Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Thilina Kandamby, Upul Tharanga, Anjelo Mathews, Thilan Samaraweera, Sanath Jayasuriya, Lasith Malinga, Dilhara Fernando, Thilan Thushara Mirando, Nuwan Kulasekera, Ajantha Mendis.

Twenty20: Kumar Sangakkara (Captain), Muttiah Muralitharan, Mahela Jayawardene, Sanath Jayasuriya, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Chamara Kapugedera, Anjelo Mathews, Chinthaka Jayasinghe, Kaushal Weerarathne, Ajantha Mendis, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Chanaka Welegedara, Thilan Thushara, Lasith Malinga, Nuwan Kulasekera.

Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath claimed five wickets as the Kiwis, set an improbable victory target of 494 runs, were bowled out for 397 in their second innings just before tea on the fifth day.

“It’s a great achievement to be number two,” said Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara. “But a Test is a test when it is played against tougher opponents. We have a long way to go to improve in all forms of the game.”

“I think at the moment we are scratching the surface. If we perform consistently in the next two to three years, we can turn back and say we have done well. Herath was incredible today, bowling about 50 overs in the hot weather. He is a good companion for Muralitharan because he takes the pressure off him,” said the Sri Lankan captain.

The success leaves Sangakkara with four wins in five matches as captain since taking over from Mahela Jayawardene in the preceding home series against Pakistan.

New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori tried his best but couldn’t avoid the defeat which was pretty much inevitable after they were set a target of 494. Vettori put in a spirited batting performance making 140, his fourth test century, as he led a lower order revival after the top order failed to put up any resistance.

“To score 400 in the fourth innings was pleasing but it is still disappointing to lose the match,” he said. “Some more runs from the guys at the top could have taken the game the full distance.”

The left-hander frustrated the Sri Lankans for more than four hours in which he faced 189 deliveries and hit 16 boundaries before he was last man to be dismissed. Vettori scored 272 runs and picked up 10 wickets in the series, and in the process became only the eighth batsman in history to achieve the double of 3,000 runs and 300 wickets.

“We have got the talent but we are not turning that talent into big scores. I think we have been guilty of trying to force the pace too much, instead of just trying to bat on and on like the Sri Lankans. The key was to put up a fight but we were not able to do that in the series,” he said.

Vettori hoped for a better showing in the two Twenty20 internationals against Sri Lanka on Wednesday and Friday and the tri-series featuring India starting on September 8.

“I think there is a confidence in our side in the shorter format of the game, so hopefully we will see a turnaround in the team’s fortunes,” he said.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka 416 (Samaraweera 143, Jayawardene 92, Patel 4-78) and 311 for 5 dec (Sangakkara 109, Jayawardene 96) beat New Zealand 234 (Taylor 81, Herath 3-70, Muralitharan 3-71) and 397 (Vettori 140, Oram 56, Herath 5-139) by 96 runs

Man of the Match: Mahela Jayawardene

Man of the Series: Thilan Samaraweera

The hosts, who led by 182 runs in the first innings, were 157-2 in their second knock when heavy rain ended play 12.4 overs early on the third day at the Sinhalese Sports Club.

Sangakkara followed his 50 in the first innings with a fluent unbeaten 64, having shared an unbroken third-wicket stand of 68 with former captain Mahela Jayawardene (23 not out). Sri Lanka will resume on the fourth day with an overall lead of 339 runs with eight wickets in hand.

Earlier, Sri Lanka spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Rangana Herath shared six wickets between them as New Zealand was bowled out for 234 in their first innings in reply to Sri Lanka’s 416 giving the hosts a lead of 182 runs in the first innings.

Off-spinner Muralitharan, the world’s most successful bowler, finished with three for 71 runs to take his record tally to 780 wickets. Left-arm spinner Herath finished with three for 70, while seamer Thilan Thushara claimed two for 37.

Brief Scores:

Sri Lanka 416 and 157 for 2 (Sangakkara 64*, Jayawardene 23*) lead New Zealand 234 (Taylor 81, Herath 3-70, Murali 3-71) by 339 runs

Colombo: A beautifully paced century by Shoaib Malik and half centuries by Misbah Ul Haq and Kamran Akmal. Malik who has been going through a lean patch as far as runs are concerned reached his hundred of 178 balls and was unbeaten on 106 at the close of play on Day 3. His century took Pakistan to 300 for 5 by the end of Day 3 taking the total lead to 366.

Earlier, a poor shot, an ordinary umpiring decision and an unplayable delivery boosted Sri Lankan hopes of restricting Pakistan to a low score in the second innings as they slipped to 86 for 4 after starting the day on 16 for 1. Fawad Alam, the young opener, once again got a start but then threw it away by playing a bad shot giving a return catch to Thushara.

Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf put together a useful partnership and were looking good at the crease when a bad umpiring decision by Ian Gould sent Younis back to the pavilion. He was given lbw of Kulasekara when the replays showed that he had got an inside edge on to his pads.

Mohammad Yousuf was playing well at the other end before Sri Lanka introduced Herath into the attack. Yousuf has struggled against Herath throughout the series with the left arm spinner dismissing him 5 times before this innings and he made it 6 times when he bowled a peach of a delivery to Yousuf, which pitched on leg stump, spun and bounced and Yousuf couldn’t do anything else but edge it to Sangakkara. But what followed after that wasn’t what Sri Lanka had in mind.

Shoaib Malik and Misbah Ul Haq batted with ease especially Misbah who looked totally comfortable on a turning track. They added 119 for the 5^th wicket and took Pakistan to a position of safety after they were struggling early on. Both rotated the strike cleverly, and as the afternoon session drew to a close, the big strokes were unveiled. Herath, the pick of the bowlers, was pulled for four and then straight-driven for six, before a glance to fine leg off Thushara took Misbah to his third half-century in Tests. Malik, who had been the most positive of the batsmen in the first innings, also smashed Herath for a straight six, and when Misbah ended the session with a sweet on-drive off Angelo Mathews, Pakistan were right on top.

Misbah was eventually dismissed for a well made 65 as he edged one straight to Sangakkara of Matthews. Sri Lanka did have a window of opportunity there with Misbah gone and the second new ball just around the corner, they had a good chance to clean up the lower order. In fact throughout the series, Sri Lanka had sparked collapses with the second new ball, but after tea at the SSC, there was only a torrent of runs. Malik and Akmal took it away with some wonderfully positive batting, as a tiring attack started to leak runs.

Akmal set the tone with some lovely drives and a powerful pull off Nuwan Kulasekara, and Malik joined in with booming drives through midwicket and cover off Thilan Thushara. When Chaminda Vaas came on for probably his final spell in international cricket, Akmal responded with a mighty heave over long-off, and Sri Lanka’s problems were accentuated when Sangakkara messed up a stumping chance off Rangana Herath when Malik was on 91.

Malik made full use of that chance and reached his hundred of 178 balls with a four and a six down the ground of Herath. This was Malik’s 2^nd test century in his short test career of 26 tests. When Akmal brought up his half-century moments later, there was plenty for the dressing room to smile about.

By the end of the day, Malik was unbeaten on 106 of 186 balls and has shared an unbeaten partnership of 114 runs with Kamran Akmal who himself is batting on 60. Pakistan are already ahead by 366 runs and there is only one way this match seems to be going from here.  Pakistan has pretty much made sure that they don’t lose this game. The only two results possible are a Pakistan win or a draw but a draw is still far away with plenty of time to go in the test and the pitch deteriorating by the moment.

Pakistan, sitting pretty at 285-1 just before lunch on the third day, crashed to 320 all out after the break to leave Sri Lanka a victory target of 171 for a decisive 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Sri Lanka cruised home by seven wickets with two days to spare, skipper Kumar Sangakkara leading the way with a fluent 46 after opener Malinda Warnapura made 54. Of the previous five series between the two nations on Sri Lankan soil, Pakistan had won three and drawn two, but the tourists had only themselves to blame for allowing the hosts to re-write history.

Pakistan’s meek surrender against the second new ball came after debutant opener Fawad Alam hit a superb 168 and shared a record stand of 200 for the second wicket with skipper Younus Khan (82). The partnership was Pakistan’s highest for the second wicket against Sri Lanka, surpassing the 151 by Mohsin Khan and Majid Khan at Lahore in 1982.

The 23-year-old Alam batted for more than six hours to amass the highest score by a Pakistani batsman on Sri Lankan soil, surpassing the 151 by Salim Malik at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo in 1997. But Pakistan lost their last nine wickets for 35 runs, their third successive collapse in the series that highlighted their reputation as one of the most unpredictable sides in modern cricket.

Pakistan had seen eight wickets fall for 46 runs on the fourth morning of the Galle Test when just 97 more were needed to win the match. The tourists then crumbled for a paltry 90 in 36 overs on the first day of this Test after electing to bat on a wicket that provided assistance to the seam bowlers.

Sri Lanka did not feel the absence of star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, out of action with a knee injury, as left-arm slow bowler Rangana Herath claimed 5-99 and seamer Nuwan Kulasekera took 4-37. Skipper Younus himself triggered the collapse just before lunch when he gifted his wicket, top-edging an ambitious reverse sweep off part-time spinner Paranavitana to the wicket-keeper. Sangakkara’s gamble to hand the new ball to spinner Herath, man of the match at Galle, paid off handsomely.

Herath trapped veteran Mohammad Yousuf leg-before with his second delivery as the batsman missed the line of a straight ball after making six. Kulasekera had Misbah-ul Haq leg-before for three before Herath ended Alam’s long vigil at the crease by having him edging an easy catch to Warnapura at short-leg.

Kulasekera caught Kamran Akmal plumb in front of the wicket and Herath bowled Shoaib Malik after the former Pakistan captain had smashed the previous delivery for a six. The last three batsmen were leg-before in quick succession. The dramatic collapse undid Pakistan’s remarkable fightback in the match after they had fallen for 90 on the first day.

The bowlers, led by Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal, had hit back to dismiss Sri Lanka for 240 before Alam and Younus made light of a first innings deficit of 150 runs.

The third and final Test starts at the Sinhalese sports club on July 20.

Sri Lanka 2nd Innings:

Extras : (b-7, nb-4) 11

TOTAL: (for three wickets in 31.5 overs) 171

Fall of wickets: 1-60, 2-100, 3-160.

Bowling: Umar Gul 6-0-38-0, Mohammad Aamer 6-0-33-0,
Saeed Ajmal 12-1-56-1, Abdur Rauf 4-1-13-1,
Younis Khan 2-0-11-0, Shoiab Malik 1.5-0-13-1.

The overnight pair batted a major part of the morning session of the third day to take Pakistan to 294-2 in their second innings by lunch, a lead of 144 runs with eight wickets in hand.

Left-handed Alam, who reached his century yesterday evening, continued in the same vein to reach 164 not out at the end of a profitable session for the batsmen at the P Sara Oval.

The 23-year-old has so far hit 14 fours and a six in the highest score by a Pakistani batsman on Sri Lankan soil, surpassing the 151 by Salim Malik at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo in 1997.

Younus, who was on 35 overnight, moved to a confident 82 when he gifted away his wicket 10 minutes before lunch, top-edging an ambitious reverse sweep off part-time spinner Tharanga Paranavitana to the wicket-keeper. New batsman Mohammad Yousuf was unbeaten on six at the break.

The partnership between Alam and Younus was Pakistan’s highest for the second wicket against Sri Lanka, surpassing the 151 by Mohsin Khan and Majid Khan at Lahore in 1982.

It has been a remarkable fightback so far by Pakistan, trailing 1-0 in the three-match series, after they were shot out for a paltry 90 soon after lunch on the first day.

The bowlers, led by four wickets each from Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal, hit back to dismiss Sri Lanka for 240 before the batsmen made light of a first innings deficit of 150 runs.

Alam and Younus batted steadily in the first hour today to add 50 runs from 14 overs by the drinks break.

Alam hit three boundaries in that period, the best being a rasping square-drive off left-arm seamer Thilan Thushara that raced to the point fence.

Younus should have departed on 64, but Mahela Jayawardene at first slip failed to grasp a sharp chance off spinner Rangana Herath.

The ball carried to the third man fence to bring up Pakistan’s 250 and take the lead past the 100-run mark.