PAK vs SL: 2018

A Test that sprung to life after Tea on Day 4 has a happy ending for Sri Lanka, who can now forget their India debacle and look forward with renewed hope and vigour. Remember, Pakistan have never lost a Test series in United Arab Emirates (UAE) and that proud record is under immense threat. They have one match to ensure that the record stays and that will be played in Dubai, starting from 6th October. It's also the first-ever Day-Night Test between these two teams. Should be a grand spectacle. Do join us for all the action. For now, cheers and bye..-------------------------------------------------Here are a few stats from this match - courtesy our statsman - Deepu Narayanan

Fewest Tests to 400 wickets: 72 M Muralitharan; 80 R Hadlee/ Steyn; 84 Rangana Herath; 85 Kumble; 87 McGrath
Lowest 4th innings targets successfully defended by SL: 136 v PAK, Abu Dhabi, 2017; 168 v Pak, Galle, 2009; 176 v Ind, Galle, 2015
Smallest margin of win for SL in a Test (by runs): 21 v Pak, Abu Dhabi, 2017; 42 v Pak, Faisalabad, 1995; 50 v Pak, Galle, 2009; 57 v Pak, Peshawar, 2000; 63 v Ind, Galle, 2015
Most wkts against Pakistan in Tests: Rangana Herath(100)*; Kapil Dev (99); Shane Warne (90); Anil Kumble (81); M Muralitharan (80); G McGrath (80)
136 is also the lowest target Pakistan failed to chase down in 4th innings.
Most ten-fers in Test cricket: Muralitharan - 22; Warne - 10; Hadlee/ Herath - 9; Kumble - 8
Most wickets in fourth innings: Warne - 138; Muralitharan - 106; McGrath - 103; Herath - 100-------------------------------------------------Dinesh Chandimal - We are over the moon, we have waited for this win. Credit goes to all the guys, lots of hard work before this Test. Credit should also go to the management and the selectors. It's difficult in the middle, Dickwella and Karunaratne were very good in the first innings, Dickwella was unbelievable in the second innings to get us to the 140-run mark. As soon as we got there, we knew Rangana would lead us in the defence of the target. On a personal front, I am very happy with the way I batted in the first innings.Sarfraz Ahmed - Win and loss - it's always a part of the game, but we should have won this match. There are some batting issues in our team and we were put under pressure. Needed one partnership and the game was ours. There was a bit of bite and turn with the new ball, that was one of the reasons for us losing so many wickets. Haris had a wonderful debut, hopefully, he will continue to perform well for us. Need to comeback well in the second Test, the batsmen must pull-up their socks and deliver.Herath - I have no idea, but I have played more games against them (on taking 100 wickets against Pakistan). When you are getting old, it gets increasingly difficult, it's a different feeling (on his 400 Test wickets). Remarkable achievement, all the credit goes to my parents, family, the team and the management. I don't have any pressure, just play my game. There was some assistance from the surface, there was something for the spinners and it helped me.Rangana Herath is the Man of the MatchSri Lanka began the day at 69/4, they tumbled to 138 all-out by lunch, thanks mainly to a plucky little knock from Niroshan Dickwella. 136 was a tricky target, but you would fancy Pakistan to chase it down. But Pakistan are Pakistan, you always have a chance defending small targets against them. Within an hour of the chase, they looked down and out - having lost half their side for just 36 runs. But Sarfraz was still in the middle and giving him company was the impressive Haris Sohail. Pakistan could still make it. Remember CT17? Sri Lanka though didn't give them a chance, one shot too many and Sarfraz was a goner, Haris followed soon and Herath ran through the tail. Giving him useful support was Dilruwan as the Island nation completed a fairytale 21-run victory. Stay with us for the presentations..Jubilant faces in the Sri Lankan camp. Dickwella plucked a wicket, so did someone else. They deserved this after the shell-lacking they got at the hands of India just recently. 9-0, captains were changed, the selectors were changed, the coach looked on a sticky wicket. Then they lost their best batsman, Angelo Mathews - at least for the first Test. All this and then they come to play at a ground where Pakistan had never lost - only to add a piece of history themselves. At tea yesterday, this game was heading towards a dull and weary draw. Not sure if anyone had a hand in changing the wicket. 20 wickets fell across the first 14 sessions, 20 more fell in the next three and a half sessions. That's cricket in the gulf for you. Sleepy, sleepy, sleepy and all of a sudden - there's a bang.
Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva are at the crease. Karunaratne is on strike. Amir will open the attackMohammad Amir to start for Pakistan, three slips, a FSL and a gully in place..There's a tinge of green on the surface, but it's very hot and very sticky in Abu Dhabi. Not sure if the pace bowlers will get anything from the surface. Should be a good batting track - at least for the first couple of days. A good toss to win for Sri Lanka? Certainly so, but can they make the most of it? The players are out in the middle..We are also hearing that umpire Ian Gould has taken ill and will be replaced by third umpire, Richard Kettleborough - at least for today. The third umpire duties will be done by Ahsan RazaMore on the new ICC playing regulations. A team will be entitled to get back their unsuccessful review - if on replays, it's confirmed that they lost their review only on umpire's call. Unlike previously, there will no top-up of reviews after 80 overs. Extra runs (in the form of byes or leg-byes) after a no-ball has been bowled will not be credited into the bowler's account. Two-pitched deliveries - which were previously treated as dead balls will now be called as no-ball. In the occasion of the bat bouncing up in the air after the batsman has made his ground - the new rules will rule it as NOT OUT, instead of OUT previously. Confused? Do check out all the provisions on our site.Teams:Pakistan (Playing XI): Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Sarfraz Ahmed(w/c), Mohammad Amir, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Hasan AliSri Lanka (Playing XI): Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal(c), Lahiru Thirimanne, Niroshan Dickwella(w), Dilruwan Perera, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Lakshan Sandakan, Nuwan PradeepPakistan will have at least one debutant, but there are no such debutants for Sri Lanka, informs Roshan Abeysinghe, on twitter. He also adds that they are playing six batsmen and five bowlers. Entire team news in a bit..Sri Lanka have won the toss and have opted to batOn the other hand, Sri Lanka come into the series after the 9-0 walloping at the hands of India. To add to their problems, Angelo Mathews, their best bat since the retirements of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, is sitting out of this Test with a borne collateral damage. For skipper Dinesh Chandimal, his first Test series as captain away from home will be a test of ability and skill. Can he come out of it with flying colours? Toss and team news in a while..It's the start of the new era for Pakistan. They last played without either of 'MisYou' in 2010 and we are getting information from the ground that Haris Sohail, the left-handed batsman, has been handed his Test cap. So, there's one fresh face at least. Skipper, Sarfraz Ahmed, has confirmed that Azhar Ali will bat at three, there's a promotion due to long serving number six, Asad Shafiq, and it means Haris Sohail might fit in at six.9 AM Local: Hello and welcome to the first Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the two teams that walk into the series with riders. The home side has lost 193 Test caps in the retirements of Younis and Misbah, while Sri Lanka, the tourists, have just had the most tormenting series there's ever been. Both teams, though, have new captains and it will be exciting to watch their journeys unfold. Expect this Test match to be anything but boring with the deluge of new ICC rules. We'll bring you more on that, stay put.Preview
Pakistan played their last Test on May 13. Sarfraz Ahmed officially became captain across all three formats on July 5. That means, even between the intoxicating highs of winning the Champions Trophy and the return of international cricket at home, they've had sufficient time to reflect on the legacies of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq.

And now reality has arrived, also bringing with it a slew of dilemmas. How does anyone replace a collective experience of 193 Tests, 15,331 runs and 44 centuries all at once? For starters, searching replacements is a futile task Pakistan will do well to steer clear of. Sarfraz's work begins with putting together a group that can play along the more established names - the Babar Azams, the Asad Shafiqs - and attempt to scavenge the runs that the two stalwarts scored. Haris Sohail and Usman Salahuddin have been given first dibs to help achieve that. It will help Pakistan that the "transition" from the Misbah to Sarfraz era begins in the familiar climes of UAE, against Sri Lanka - a side they've played 14 Tests since 2011.

The visitors can certainly empathise with Pakistan's predicament. They've after all been repeatedly smacked on the head by that ten-letter word since Kumar Sangakkara nicked Ravichandran Ashwin off to slip and walked away into a glorious, yet premature some would argue, Colombo sunset. Sri Lanka have been so burdened by this moving on process that star man Angelo Mathews has borne collateral damage. After a spate of injuries and a captaincy handover, he'll sit out this series opener with a calf strain.

Captain Dinesh Chandimal can hardly have chosen a more strenuous atmosphere to lead in his first overseas assignment as full-time captain. Although, after the fiasco against India, he will may have one less thing to think about - booing fans - when he sits on the team bus to head to the stadium. At the moment, even small positives will do.

When: Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test, September 28 - October 2, 06:00 GMT; 11:30 IST

Where: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

What to expect: Bright and sunny days. The pitch at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, as always, will foster stroke play on the first two days with fast bowlers enjoying some assistance in terms of bounce. Spinners will have a say and Yasir Shah, who grabbed a match-haul of 10 for 210 in the last game here will hope to use recent experience for one-upmanship over Rangana Herath.

Team News:

Pakistan

To pick eleven from Pakistan's fresh-faced squad will take some task. Pakistan have both Sami Aslam and Shan Masood in the roster to partner Azhar Ali at the top although the indication from the camp is that Masood could get first go given he played (and failed) the last Test in West Indies. Haris and Salahuddin will take up middle-order roles while Hasan Ali will likely partner Mohammad Amir with the ball. Yasir Shah, who has 149 wickets from 26 Tests, passed a late fitness Test and will spearhead the spin attack, which has Mohammad Asghar and and Bilal Asif to choose from as well. Young left-arm seamer Mir Hamza, with a strong domestic season behind him, might still have to wait for his turn with Mohammad Abbas and Wahab Riaz currently ahead of him in the pecking order.

Sri Lanka

With Tharanga taking a sabbatical, the recalled Kaushal Silva will move to the top of the batting order with Dimuth Karunaratne. The axed Malinda Pushpakumara's spot could be taken up by Sadheera Samarawickrema, the 22-year-old uncapped wicketkeeper-batsman. Roshen Silva, an experienced campaigner on the domestic circuit, is likely to take Mathews's spot. The visitors will be particularly buoyed by the return of pacers Nuwan Pradeep and Suranga Lakmal, who've both shrugged off injuries suffered in the last month.

Did you know?

- The last time Pakistan played a Test without either Younis Khan or Misbah-ul-Haq was back in August 2010 in England.

- Rangana Herath is 11 wickets away from becoming the second Sri Lankan bowler with 400 Test wickets. If he gets to the landmark in this series, he will become the first player to take 100 wickets against Pakistan.

- Azhar Ali needs 32 runs to become the eight Pakistan batsman to complete 5000 runs in Test cricket. He has 4968 runs from 60 Tests. Only Younis Khan took fewer games to reach the milestone - 59.

What they said:

"Obviously, it's not easy to fill the void they left as they were the backbone of our batting. Their contributions were immense but now we have to move on."

- Sarfraz Ahmed on leading Pakistan into a new era in Test cricket

"It is time to go out and perform, and that is the challenge. You are going to meet a world-class team. We have to move forward."

- Sri Lanka head coach Nic Pothas is "sick and tired" of all the transition talk.Teams:Pakistan (From): Azhar Ali, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed(w/c), Usman Salahuddin, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Abbas, Bilal Asif, Mir Hamza, Wahab RiazSri Lanka (From): Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal(c), Lahiru Thirimanne, Niroshan Dickwella(w), Dilruwan Perera, Lakshan Sandakan, Rangana Herath, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Gamage, Roshen Silva

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