Pallekele, 30 October 2021: Skipper Saud Shakeel and Omair Bin Yousuf took their 45-run overnight partnership to 162 as Pakistan Shaheens took command of the first four-day match against Sri Lanka on another rain interrupted day at the Pallekele International Stadium on Saturday.
Resuming at the overnight score of 70 for one in reply to Sri Lanka A’s paltry first innings score of 141, Saud and Omair kept their partnership intact adding 117 more runs in the 39 overs that were possible on day-three. Shaheens finished the day at 187 for one (62 overs), a 46-run lead over the hosts.
The left-hander Saud who opened the innings finished the day on 86 not out, his innings has so far been punctuated with 10 fours and has come off 161 balls.
The right-handed Omair has hit nine fours in his 199-ball unbeaten 78-run effort. The Sri Lanka A bowlers failed to make any breakthrough on day-three as the Shaheens continued to dominate the match.
Fast bowler Naseem Shah took five wickets while Khurram Shehzad and Irfanullah Shah took three and two wickets respectively to bowl Sri Lanka A for 141 runs in their first innings which was spread over two days with rain causing stoppages at regular intervals.
Tomorrow is the fourth and last day of the match.
Scores in Brief:
Sri Lanka A 141 (Vishwa Fernando 30 not out, Lahiru Udara 23; Naseem Shah 5-53, Khurram Shehzad 3-25, Irfanullah Shah 2-40 )
Pakistan Shaheens 187 for 1, 62 overs (Saud Shakeel 86 not out, Omair Yousuf 78 not out, Lasith Embuldeniya 1-50)
