Younis Khan features in record stand

Khan, who made 107, was involved in a match-saving ninth-wicket record stand of 145 with injured all-rounder Wasim Akram. Akram made an enterprising 79, batting with a runner due to a groin injury.

Khan, a 22-year-old from Karachi, played adventurously from the outset and benefitted from two chances and two leg before shouts during his 322-minute stay, hitting 12 boundaries.

He was finally out when his drive was deflected off silly-point fielder to Aravinda de Silva off Muttiah Muralitharan. At 236 for 8, with defeat staring Pakistan in the face,the young Younis Khan found a pugnacious companion in Akram who tried to hit the team out of trouble with a fortune-turning stand and took the match into the last day.

Khan became the seventh Pakistani and 66th batsman in Test cricket to hit a ton in his first match when he took a couple off Pramodaya Wickremasinghe to wide mid-off. He took 294 minutes, faced 224 balls and carted 11 boundaries to pass the century mark.

Akram, whose contribution in the match had been a mere 13 deliveries on day one before walking off with injury, hit 10 boundaries during his 195-minute innings lasting 146 balls.

Sri Lankan bowlers bowled short and will rue the fielding lapses that allowed the home team to escape defeat. Akram was dismissed with nine overs to go when he was caught at silly point by Mahela Jayawardene off Muralitharan.

Khalid Ibadullah, Javed Miandad, Salim Malik, Mohammad Wasim, Ali Naqvi and Azhar Mahmood had previously scored hundreds on debuts for Pakistan.

Both Naqvi and Mahmood achieved the record on this same ground in the same Test against South Africa three years ago. Younis completed his maiden half-century in 129 minutes with a hooked boundary off Chaminda Vaas.

He was let off at 42 by de Silva in the first slip off Vaas and by Jayawardene at silly point off Muralitharan when on 56. But that did not deter Khan from playing daring hook shots, lofted drives and cuts square of the wicket.

Akram reached his sixth Test 50 off 72 balls, spiced with six boundaries. Pakistan’s previous best stand for the ninth wicket against Sri Lanka was 127 put on by Haroon Rasheed and Rashid Khan in the Karachi Test.

Resuming at 154-4, Pakistan lost nightwatchman Waqar Younis while still two runs short of avoiding an innings defeat. Vaas took a fine low return catch on his own bowling to dismiss Younis for 8. Vaas struck again with the second new ball when he trapped Moin Khan leg before wicket for 10. (AFP)

SCOREBOARD :

Pakistan (1st innings): 182

Sri Lanka 1st innings: 353

Pakistan (2nd innings; overnight 154-4): Saeed Anwar b Vaas 84, Wajahtullah Wasti c Wickremasinghe b Zoysa 1, Aamir Sohail c Jayawardene b Muralitharan 24, Inzamam-ul Haq c sub (Chandana) b Zoysa 20, Yousuf Youhana c Jayawardene b Muralitharan 18, Waqar Younis c & b Vaas 8, Younis Khan c de Silva b Muralitharan 107, Moin Khan lbw b Vaas 10, Abdul Razzaq c Kaluwitharana b Zoysa 3, Wasim Akram c Jayawardene b Muralitharan 79, Saqlain Mushtaq not out 2; Extras: (b4, lb12, nb18) 34. Total: (all out in 152.1 overs) 390
Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-72, 3-136, 4-148, 5-169, 6-189,7-224, 8-236, 9-381
Bowling: Vaas 38-7-85-3, Zoysa 26-8-64-3, Wickremasinghe 24-4-76-0, Muralitharan 54.1-14-127-4, Arnold 1-1-0-0, de Silva 6-2-10-0, Jayasuriya 3-0-12-0

Sri Lanka (2nd innings): Maravan Atapattu batting 6, Sanath Jayasuriya batting 5;
Total (for no loss in 3 overs) 11
Bowling: W Younis 2-0-7-0, Razzaq 1-0-4-0.