Rangana Herath conjured six wickets on a day-five pitch that carried little threat and Sri Lanka hunted down 99 in a dramatic chase under the constant threat of rain and fading light. A big, dark cloud hung over the ground as Sri Lanka closed in but relented just long enough for Angelo Mathews to swat an unbeaten 25 off 13 and drag his side home with under five overs remaining. Just after Mathews tapped Junaid Khan to midwicket for a nearly suicidal, winning single, the skies opened up.
Pakistan’s loss was the 11th by a side that had posted 450-plus batting first, as they tried to block their way to safety in the morning and found Herath all over them. They lost three wickets for 62 runs in 32 overs in the first session, and even though they tried being more positive after lunch, Sri Lanka pried out four more by tea. Sarfraz Ahmed counter-attacked with an unbeaten fifty but he was stranded as Herath spun out the tail to leave Sri Lanka 21 overs to get 99.
Mahela Jayawardene walked out to open in his last Test innings in Galle and took Sri Lanka to 59 before the sight of the cloud made him make too much room outside leg and miss an accurate Junaid Khan yorker on 26. Kumar Sangakkara swung his way to 21 off 22 before he holed out to long-on as Sri Lanka’s desperation grew and Pakistan fretted over the falling visibility. It was left to captain Mathews to slog a couple of sixes into a wildly cheering crowd to beat the rain.
Pakistan’s downfall began in the morning when their young batsmen were reluctant to score after Dhammika Prasad had ended the nightwatchman Saeed Ajmal’s resistance in the sixth over of the day. Ahmed Shehzad made 16 off 74 and was around with the equally sedate Azhar Ali for 93 balls, but the partnership fetched Pakistan merely 28. Even half-volleys were patted away regularly and the spinners were allowed to settle into their rhythms. The occasional attempts to rotate the strike were
rushed and tense. Azhar stepped out at times, but went to lunch on 18 off 89.
Rangana Herath dismissed Asad Shafiq to end a 137-run stand, Sri Lanka v Pakistan, 1st Test, Galle, 2nd day, August 7, 2014 Herath and Dilruwan Perera were relentless, even with no uneven bounce available and no exaggerated turn or bounce. Perera, a classical offspinner who has no doosra, used his straighter one superbly from both sides of the wicket, leaving the batsmen unsure about which ones would turn. He beat Azhar with a straighter one and Shehzad on the drive with a flighted offbreak.