Pakistan’s Abdullah Shafiq scored his second Test century as the tourists chased down a colossal target on the fourth day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle on Tuesday.
Pakistan finished on 222-3 with 120 runs needed to take the lead in the two-Test series.
Sri Lanka set a challenging target of 342 for Pakistan after 337 runs in their second innings.
Shafiq combined 87 runs in the opening stand of 87 with Imam-ul-Haq (35) and later scored 101 runs with captain Babar Azam (55).
Shafiq’s unbeaten 112 came with five fours and a six and he had Mohammad Rizwan at the other end.
However, Shafiq and Imam did not look very confident when Pakistan started the chase.
Imam was removed at cover and the lbw verdict against him was reversed, while Shafiq survived a strong leg-before appeal.
Imam’s innings ended in a strange way when he let go of a delivery from spinner Ramesh Mendis, but lifted his back leg slightly in the process, leading to a lightning-fast stumping by Niroshan Dickwella.
Sri Lanka seemed to be back in charge when Jayasuriya smashed Azhar Ali for a six at slips.
Babur, who broke a century In the first innings, Jayasuriya opened his account by hitting a boundary and in his next over hit the spinner for a six over deep midwicket.
Shafiq took a single off Mahesh Dikshana to complete his century and celebrated the milestone by kissing his helmet and hugging his captain Babar.
Jayasuriya bowled Babar around his feet in the final session, although Pakistan’s nose is ahead in this match.