All to play for on final day in Sharjah
Half-tons from Tharanga Paranavitana and Kumar Sangakkara helped Sri Lanka to make a good start to their second innings but a couple of late wickets saw them finish on 164 for five.
Half-centuries from Tharanga Paranavitana and Kumar Sangakkara helped Sri Lanka to make a good start to their second innings but a couple of late wickets saw them finish on 164 for five.
Sri Lanka, who need to win the third and final Test in Sharjah to square the series 1-1, took a 73-run lead into their second innings after bowling Pakistan out for 413 early in the day and their lead swelled to 237 by stumps on Sunday with Paranavitana 66 not out and debutant Kosala Kulasekara unbeaten on four.
Paranavitana lost his opening partner Tillakaratne Dilshan in the first over after Umar Gul drew an edge off the Sri Lanka captain's bat five overs into the innings but Sangakkara once again dug in for the visitors as he took his runs tally for the series to 516 with 51 from 91 balls.
Sangakkara's runs gave the Sri Lanka innings impetus, but just when he started to take charge he cut Mohammad Hafeez straight to backward point. Mahela Jayawarden (20) and Angelo Mathews (13) both had starts before falling leg before wicket to Gul and spinner Saeed Ajmal respectively. Wicketkeeper Kashual Silva lasted only four balls before he became Ajmal's second victim.
The wickets of Mathews and Silva four overs before stumps was a big major blow to Sri Lanka's hopes of upping their run rate and setting Pakistan a formidable target. Instead, they now have to be cautious early on day five to make sure they don't get bowled out and leave Pakistan with a gettable score to chase.
Earlier Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq had three lives before he was eventually dismissed for 89 shortly before the lunch break. Although pedestrian, his knock – which came off 261 balls – helped the hosts to come within 73 runs of Sri Lanka's first innings of 413 all out.
Starting the day on 282 for six following Younis Khan's 122 on Saturday, Misbah (unbeaten on 50) and Abdur Rehman (three not out) failed to add to the overnight score as the latter was out in the first over.
Chanaka Welegedara's late movement squared Rehman up and the batsman's attempts to fend it off to the off-side ended up with him getting a thick edge to second slip. Gul lasted 22 balls for his five runs before he went in typical tail-ender's fashion as looked to clear the in-field but holed out to long-off instead.
Misbah, dropped on 52, 53 and 60, made sure his side crawled closer and closer to Sri Lanka's score but he couldn't quite get them over the mark as he got a top edge to his slog sweep off Suraj Randiv. Sri Lanka skipper Dilshan made no mistake with catch at backward short leg.
Welegedara made it five wickets in the Test, his first five-for, as he picked up the final wicket of Junaid Khan. The No 11 played inside the line of the ball but it missed his bat and hit off stump.
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