On day two of the second Test at Galle, here on Monday, the Sri Lankan spinners extended their dominance over the Pakistan batters after establishing a high total by weaving a web around them.
The After Pakistan posted 378 on Day 2 at the Galle International Stadium, Sri Lanka did well and reduced Pakistan to 191 for 7 with just four wickets remaining at the start of the day.
They spent the most of the first session accumulating 63 runs as they worked toward a strong total. Soon after Dunith Wellalage left, Niroshan Dickwella, who had been on 42 not out last night, celebrated his 22nd Test fifty. Dickwella lost 51 members, but Sri Lanka was still fighting.
Sri Lanka posted a respectable 378 as Ramesh Mendis turned up the heat and smacked four fours and a six.
Asitha Fernando's dismissal of Abdullah Shafique off the first ball of Pakistan's innings gave Sri Lanka a great start. Shafique received a thick inside edge at a good length delivery that rattled his off and middle stumps after his stunning effort in the first Test gave the visitors a convincing victory.
At 15/1 going into lunch, Pakistan lost Babar Azam, who also pulled one onto the stumps from Prabath Jayasuriya, just after the break. Pakistan was in serious trouble at 35/2. Despite persevering, Imam-ul-Haq was the third batter to be bowled after leaving space between his bat and pad.
Ramesh Mendis had his chance to excel with the ball after Pakistan fell behind by three goals. The bowler produced an excellent ball spin. He caught Mohammad Rizwan with a quick, spinning delivery that Rizwan entirely misjudged, resulting in a rap on the pads. He requested a review, but since he had no inside information, the lbw was as accurate as it got.
After the tea break, Mendis kept up his assault. In order to reduce Pakistan to 145/6, he first forced Mohammad Nawaz (12) to edge a flatter delivery to the keeper, breaking Fawad Alam's (24) resistance.
Salman Ali Agha, 28, scored a memorable innings in only his third Test. When Pakistan was 88/4, Agha entered at No. 6, dropping anchor to impede the Sri Lanka spinners. He struggled against Ramesh Mendis and Jayasuriya at first, but as the game went on, his defending abilities improved. He got away from Jayasuriya and slammed him for a four and a six, the match's first maximum. He took 93 balls to reach his first Test fifty.
Just as the game was about to end, Jayasuriya scalped Agha with what turned out to be the last ball of the day, dealing Pakistan a fatal blow.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka 378 (Dinesh Chandimal 80, Niroshan Dickwella 51; Naseem Shah 3-58, Yasir Shah 3-83) lead Pakistan 191/7 (Agha Salman 62, Imam ul Haq 32; Ramesh Mendis 3-42, Prabath jayasuriya 2-59) by 187 runs