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Galle: Leg-spinner Yasir Shah took a seven-wicket haul and then openers played an aggressive innings to help Pakistan claim an emphatic 10-wicket win over Sri Lanka in the first Test at Galle on Sunday.
Sri Lanka were trailing by 54 when they resumed their second innings at an overnight position of 63-2. However, Yasir grabbed a career best 7-76 as he exposed frailties of opponents' inexperienced batting line-up and bundled them out for 206 on the final day.
Although Dimuth Karunaratne (79) and Lahiru Thirimanne (44) tried to provide some strong resistance by building a 69-run stand for the fourth wicket, the hosts lost seven wickets for 74, thus leaving Pakistan only 90 to win in 41 overs.
Sarfraz Ahmed, who was adjudged as the Player of the Match, displayed a clinical work behind the stumps as he made three crucial stumps to ably support Yasir.
Subsequently, openers Ahmed Shehzad (43) and Mohammad Hafeez (46) smacked runs briskly as they remained unbeaten to reach their target within 11.2 overs.
Pakistan had turned around the Galle Test on the fourth day as Asad Shafiq and Sarfraz staged a spirited fightback to rescue their team from a precarious position by putting together a 139-run stand for the sixth wicket.
While Asad displayed a flawless defence tactics by scoring his seventh Test century (131), Sarfraz smacked a quick-fire 96 to accelerate their innings and give them a 117-run lead on the penultimate day.
Pakistan now lead the three-match Test series 1-0 and will meet the hosts for the second Test on Thursday in Colombo
Brief scores
Sri Lanka - 300 (Silva 125) and 206 (Karunaratne 79, Yasir 7-76)
Pakistan - 417 (Shafiq 131, Sarfraz 96, Dilruwan 4-122) and 92 for 0 (Hafeez 46*, Shehzad 43*)
Result - Pakistan won by 10 wickets
MOM - Sarfraz Ahmed (Pakistan)
