News Sports Cricket Pakistan-Sri Lanka: Pakistan 291-6 at stump, day 3, 3rd Test

Pakistan-Sri Lanka: Pakistan 291-6 at stump, day 3, 3rd Test

Sharjah, United Arab Emirates : Opening batsman Ahmed Shehzad cashed in on a very flat pitch to hit a maiden test century but Sri Lanka hit back through Rangana Herath's triple strike to restrict Pakistan



Shehzad made an overly ambitious attempt to reverse sweep against Herath, but was unable to avoid dragging the ball back onto his stumps when he looked set to dominate the bowling.

Sri Lanka didn't go for the second new ball and Shaminda Eranga reverse swung the old ball enough to win lbw decision against Asad Shafiq before Herath got a faint edge of Ahmed.

“The captain is there and I think we should play two more sessions and equal their score,” Shehzad said. “We will try to make a comeback as we are going after the result in the match.”

Herath struck early after tea when Younis Khan (17) was caught behind down the legside as Pakistan had to pay a heavy price of losing four wickets for 122 runs in the last session.

Sri Lanka—leading the series 1-0 and needing just a draw to clinch the series—did well in the first session by conceding just 66 runs after Pakistan resumed at the overnight 19-0.

Shehzad and Khurram Manzoor (52) labored for only 23 runs in the first hour with Shehzad hitting two legside boundaries off fast bowler Suranga Lakmal.

Manzoor was very cautious, hitting only one boundary in the session, when he cut Eranga to point in the 17th over of the day.

The openers put on Pakistan's best first wicket stand of the series -- 114 runs—but were too defensive against both seamers and the left-arm spin of Herath, who constantly bowled outside leg stump and tested the patience of batsmen.

But the Sri Lanka tactic annoyed Shehzad.

“They can't bowl us out with negative bowling in a proper test match,” Shehzad said. “It's a do or die match for us and they were afraid that we were going after runs.”