The second day of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan was full of action. Both teams didn’t give an inch to the opposition in a fierce battle on the field. The Pakistan batters started the day in pursuit of 222 runs scored by Sri Lanka in the first innings. Pakistan had the worst possible start for the day as they lost the crucial wicket of the batter Azhar Ali in the very first over of the day. Mohammad Rizwan joined the captain Babar Azam at the crease as the duo added 40 runs for the fourth wicket before Rizwan lost his wicket to Ramesh Mendis.
The wicket of Rizwan brought upon long-lasting adversity on the Pakistan innings as they began losing wickets in quick succession and were left reeling at 112/8. Only captain Babar Azam looked comfortable out in the middle as he held one end refusing to throw his wicket away. He got good support from tailenders especially Naseem Shah who faced 52 balls in his rearguard action.
Babar lavished praise on Shah after the end of Pakistan’s innings. “Naseem Shah played a tremendous innings in Galle Test which became a source of confidence for me as well. This is actually what is required! Play for your team and give your hundred percent,” said Babar Azam, after the end of the day’s play.
Thanks to the support from the tailenders, Babar managed to add runs to the scoreboard as he brought up his seventh Test hundred. He scored glorious 119 runs with the help of 11 fours and two sixes. Courtesy of Babar’s stupendous knock Pakistan were able to come close to the first innings score of Sri Lanka and concede a lead of just 4 runs in the second innings.
Off late, the runs scored by the tail carry tremendous importance in Test cricket as fans have seen many game-changing knocks from the tailenders. The modern era of cricket demands even tailenders to put a price on their wicket and contribute as many runs as possible to the team’s total.
