Pakistan openers reached 68-0 by lunch after Dinesh Chandimal was trapped for an unbeaten 94, chasing a record win target of 342, as Sri Lanka scored 337 in their second innings on the fourth day of the opening Test on Tuesday .
Abdullah Shafiq scored an unbeaten 41 and Imamul Haque made 25 to leave Pakistan with another 274 to win in Galle, where the highest successful fourth-innings chase by Sri Lanka against New Zealand in 2019 is 268 runs.
Shafiq survived the lbw appeal from left-arm spinner Prabhat Jayasuriya, who took five wickets for Pakistan. First inningsSri Lanka’s review was unsuccessful after the on-field umpire gave it not out.
In the next over, Imam was dismissed lbw off paceman Kasun Rajita, but when technique showed that the ball would have bounced over the stumps, he reviewed.
The right-handed batting pair of Shafiq and Imam slowly gained confidence to rotate the strike, finding the boundary rope six times before the interval.
Earlier, in-form Chandimal had come down from 86 to 94 but missed a century when Naseem Shah bowled Jayasuriya for four when the hosts resumed at 329-9.
All-rounder Mohammad Nawaz, who bowled left-arm spin, returned figures of 5-88 after taking his wicket. First five-wicket haul On Monday, fellow spinner Yasir Shah took three wickets.
Pakistan’s spinners reduced Sri Lanka to 235-7 on Monday but Chandimal bounced back with a second half-century of the match and took help from the tail on the turning pitch.