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Day 1: Responsible batting by Imran Nazir and Wajahatullah

LAHORE, March 4: Half-centuries in contrasting styles by debutante Imran Nazir (64) and opener Wajahatullah Wasti (80 not out) and a fine unbeaten knock of 40 by Yousuf Youhana helped Pakistan to 192 for three in 65 overs on the rain-hit opening day of the Asian Test Championship five-day game against Sri Lanka here on Thursday at the Gaddafi Stadium.

In all, 142 minutes playing time was lost on the first day of the five-day game. Umpires David Shepherd and Rudi Koertzen's effort to make up for the wastage of time was hampered by poor visibility as the game had to be abandoned at 5:48 pm when they had decided to continue it till 6 pm.

Surprisingly, it was decided to begin the second day's play of the Test on Friday at 10:15 am instead of starting it early to make up for the lost time. The weather or bad light may again not allow the full day's play or the continuation of the game late in the afternoon.

Wajahatullah and Yousuf Youhana have so far added 87 runs in 134 minutes in their unbroken fourth-wicket partnership to take the Pakistan team's total to respectability.

In the role of a sheet-anchor, Wajahatullah, although dropped twice, has yet played a solid, unbeaten knock of 80 in 266 minutes, which helped the Pakistan team to recover. He chose only loose deliveries to hit but otherwise played sedately. Wajahat charged out of his crease to loft left-arm spinner Bandaratilleke for a four to complete his half-century. Later, he hit Sajeeva de Silva for two consecutive boundaries. Wajahat has hit 12 power-packed boundaries so far and faced 187 balls.

Yousuf Youhana grafted his innings in his typical style. He hit seven exquisitely-timed boundaries. He was dropped by Russel Arnold in second slip off Wickremasinghe at the total of 115. That was only blemish in his polished knock.

The game resumed at 3:10 pm after a delay of 138 minutes. The early luncheon and tea intervals were taken. When rain stopped, the ground-staff under the supervision of reserve umpire Muhammad Siddique Khan made hectic efforts and finally succeeded in the resumption of the game. There was another stoppage of four minutes and every one in the stadium thought that the day's play had been called off. However, suddenly sun came out and the umpires asked to resume the game again.

A second-wicket stand of 105 runs between Imran Nazir and Wajahat in 121 minutes put Pakistan on road of a good score. At that stage, Imran Nazir mistimed a hook on a short-pitched delivery of the only Sri Lanka successful bowler Wickremasinghe into the safe hands of Sajeeva de Silva inside the deep fine-leg boundary.

Wickremasinghe claimed two important wickets in five balls, which created apprehensions of a collapse of the Pakistani batting. After the dismissal of Imran Nazir, the middle-order batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq got his off-stump uprooted by Wickremasinghe on the fourth delivery he faced. Both the wickets fell at the total of 105. At that stage Yousuf Youhana joined Wajahatullah and steadied the innings.

Earlier, Pakistan reached a healthy position by scoring 98 for one in 25.2 overs when the two umpires stopped play due to bad light, eight minutes before the scheduled luncheon interval which begins at 12 noon. At that moment Imran Nazir was batting at 59 and Wajahatullah at 34. An early lunch break was ordered.

The Sri Lanka paceman Wickremasinghe uprooted off-stump of the experienced Saeed Anwar on third ball of the day. The opener first went forward but immediately stepped backward to leave a gap between his bat and pad and was bowled. The Pakistani captain Wasim Akram's decision to bat first on a batting pitch seemed to have backfired. However, the Test debutante Imran Nazir and Wajahatullah batted brilliantly.

The 17-year-old Imran Nazir batted in his flamboyant style and repaired the damage efficiently. He cut, pulled and drove with fluency. Imran was supported by Wajahatullah. Imran was not overawed by the situation and showed no jitters normally exhibited by teenagers playing their first Test. Imran pulled Hathurusinghe's short-pitched delivery over mid-wicket boundary to earn applause from a crowd of around 8,000. Imran raced to his half-century (52) in 89 minutes by cutting Sajeeva de Silva for his eighth four. Imran reached 59 in 109 minutes at the time of stoppage of the game.

Wajahatullah had a 'life' when he was dropped by wicket-keeper Kaluwitharana. He played solidly to prop up the Pakistan innings. During the luncheon interval, it started raining, which ruled out possibility of an early resumption of the Test.

Day 2: Sri Lanka manage to make 189 for four to Pakistan's 398

LAHORE, March 5: Pakistan ended second day of the five-day Asian Test Championship game in a commanding position, thanks to an excellent maiden century by Wajahatullah Wasti and fine knocks by Yousuf Youhana, Moin Khan, Imran Nazir and effective bowling by Saqlain Mushtaq at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.

In reply to Pakistan's formidable first innings total of 398, Sri Lankans were struggling at 189 for four when the two umpires David Shepherd (England) and Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) stopped the game at 5:26 pm due to bad light rather than extending the play till 5:45 pm as planned.

If opener Wajahatullah held one end to help Pakistan reach 398 in 102.1 overs in 420 minutes, opener Russel Arnold hit a solid knock of 81 in 206 minutes to keep Sri Lanka's hopes of qualifying for the final of the competition. Saqlain Mushtaq dealt three deadly blows to make the visiting team struggle during the post-tea session.

Russel Arnold faced all the five Pakistani bowlers used by skipper Wasim Akram, including himself, boldly. A model of concentration and application, Arnold faced 135 balls and hit thirteen exquisitely-timed boundaries in his unbeaten knock because he did not spare any loose delivery bowled by young pacemen Fazle Akbar and Shahid Nazir. Arnold looked well-set for a well-deserved century. Arnold saw four batsmen crashing on the other end but kept his nerves till draw of stumps.

Saqlain Mushtaq again proved why he was rated so highly as a spinner by destroying the Sri Lanka top-order batting after Fazle Akbar had broken the opening partnership which yielded 84 runs. Avishka Gunawardene tried to hook Fazle Akbar but only succeeded in top-edging it to young Imran Nazir at deep fine leg.

Earlier, both the young pacemen Fazle Akbar and Shahid Nazir had been thrashed by the Sri Lanka openers. On second delivery of his very first over, Saqlain sent a bail of Mahela Jayawardene's bail flying in air with a his devilish straight delivery which also kept low. He could get only four runs after coming here fresh from a double-century in the drawn game of the Asian Test Championship against India at Colombo.

Marvan Atapattu (23 in 69 minutes) was deceived by Saqlain Mushtaq as he went for a defensive prod and Yousuf Youhana took a splendid, one-handed diving catch at backward square-leg at the total of 146. Captain Hashan Tillekeratne (9) was also clean bowled by Saqlain at the total of 156. Romesh Kaluwitharana (20) along with Arnold will resume the Sri Lanka first innings on Saturday.

Earlier, Pakistan's first innings closed at 398, twenty minutes after the lunch break. The innings lasted 102.1 overs. Atapattu ran in a few steps from mid-off to take a good catch of Shahid Nazir (10), who tried to hoist Pramodya Wickremasinghe out of the ground but holed out the catch. Shahid Nazir was the last Pakistani out. He was Wickremasinghe's sixth victim, who conceded 103 runs to emerge as the most successful Sri Lanka bowler.

The overnight batsmen Wajahatullah Wasti and Yousuf Youhana continued good batting and both extended their fourth-wicket partnership from 87 to 178 before being separated. Both had batted cautiously on Thursday but thrashed the Sri Lanka bowlers on Friday morning to plunder quick runs obviously under the instructions of the team management.

Off-spinner Ruwan Kalpage succeeded in breaking the stubborn stand with the fifth ball of his tenth over. A lapse in Yousuf Youhana's concentration cost him dearly when he looked well set for a century. He came forward to drive an off-break of Kalpage but could not control his shot and the bowler himself held a fine, low catch during his follow-through. The partnership between Yousuf and Wajahatullah lasted 187 minutes. Yousuf hit a polished knock of 83 on 152 balls. Besides hitting Bandaratilleke over long on boundary for a six, Yousuf hit 11 boundaries mostly through elegant drives and cuts.

Kalpage claimed his second and last wicket of the innings on catch of the match swooped by Gunawardene at silly point on last ball of his tenth over. Shahid Afridi powerfully drove the first ball he faced into Gunawardene's mid-riff, leaving the fielder writhing in pain after affecting that catch. Both wickets fell at the total of 283. Wajahatullah Wasti played the first ball of Kalpage's 11th over to deprive the off-spinner of a hat-trick.

Barring the ever-reliable Moin Khan, who hit another half-century, none of the Pakistanis could make a worthwhile contribution.

Wajahatullah's excellent knock came to an end when he was unfortunately run out after registering his maiden Test century (133). Wajahatullah played a delivery from Kalpage and ran to steal a single but was sent back by the non-striking batsman Moin Khan. Before Wajahat could amble back to his crease, Atapattu gathered the ball smartly at covers and threw it to wicketkeeper Kaluwitharana, who whipped off the bails. Umpire Koertzen raised his finger to declare Wajahat out. The sixth Pakistani wicket fell at the total of 302.

Wajahat was dropped on a couple of occasions. However, the opener from Peshawar played role of a sheet-anchor in an efficient manner. He kept one end blocked and moulded his knock according to demands of the situation. Wajahat occupied the crease for 335 minutes, faced 238 balls and hit two big sixes over long on boundary off Kalpage besides hitting 18 boundaries. He cut and drove the ball with power and precision. On Thursday,he was model of application and concentration and defended dourly, hitting only loose deliveries. However, he opened up on Friday to play delectable shots.

Saqlain Mushtaq (15 in 17 minutes) was the seventh man out at 323. He lifted Bandaratilleke over mid-off but Sajeeva de Silva ran in a few yards to hold a good catch. This was the only success of the Sri Lanka left-arm spinner.

The visiting team took new ball immediately after completing 90 overs when Pakistan had scored 334. Only Wickremasinghe used it effectively.

Captain Wasim Akram (4 in 11 minutes) cut Wickremasinghe uppishly and Russel Arnold took a fine catch in the second slip at the total of 339.

Moin Khan played a brisk knock of 57 in 68 minutes to make the Pakistan score impregnable. He hit seven well-timed boundaries and three big sixes. The last one was off Sajeeva over mid-wicket boundary which completed his half-century (53). He dispatched Wickremasinghe's fourth ball of 26th over for his seventh boundary but perished on the very next ball. Moin tried a cross-bat shot, missed the line of the inswinger which kept low and umpire David Shepherd raised his finger to adjudge him leg before wicket. Pakistan's ninth wicket fell at 373. At tea, Pakistan reached 384, consuming exactly 400 minutes.

The last Pakistani pair of Shahid Nazir and Fazle Akbar added 25 runs in 20 minutes. Shahid Nazir lofted Wickremasinghe towards long-off and Atapattu ran a few steps forward to hold the catch.

Opening bowler Wickremasinghe bowled his heart out on this docile pitch which is tailor-made for batting. He took three scalps with the second new ball on Friday as he had taken three on the first day. Wickremasinghe conceded 103 runs for his six scalps.

Day 3: Wasim earns a Test hat trick, Sri Lanka enter Final

LAHORE, March 6: Captain Wasim Akram recorded first-ever hat trick by any Pakistani in a Test to put the host team in a driving seat against Sri Lanka on third day of the Asian Test Championship at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.

The historic feat earned Pakistan a 70-run lead in the first innings as Sri Lanka was restricted to 328 despite two centuries by Russel Arnold and Romesh Kaluwitharana in reply to Pakistan's total of 398.

In the second innings, the Pakistani openers Shahid Afridi (81) and Wajahatullah Wasti (61) took the team's total to 149 without being separated and earned Pakistan an over-all lead of 219 with all ten wickets intact.

Bowling and field-placing during the morning session left much to be desired. That offered Sri Lanka a chance to get three batting points and move into final of the championship. But this shouldnot detract from excellent batting by Arnoldand Kaluwitharana. Why captain Wasim Akram chose to come on to bowl during the afternoon session is comprehensible!

Riding his luck, Shahid Afridi hit a bold knock of 81 not out with the help of one six and eleven power-packed boundaries. He pulled Bandarathilake over mid-wicket boundary for the huge six. Shahid Afridi was dropped four times in the innings. At his individual score of nine, Gunawardena dropped Shahid Afridi at deep square-leg as he ran to catch a skier off the bowling of Sajeeva de Silva, but spilled the ball while rolling over after putting both hands to it. Shahid Afridi was dropped second time at his score of 18 as Kaluwitharana could not put hands to another skier off Wickremasinghe although he ran a few yards towards deep fine-leg. Shahid Afridi got third 'life' at his score of 36 when Jayawardene dropped him off Sajeeva de Silva again at deep fine leg. On a delivery from Kalpage, Shahid was dropped by Wickremasinghe at mid-off at his score of 65.

Wajahatullah Wasti played a solid knock of 61 not out with the help of six boundaries and a six over long on boundary off Kalpage. Pakistan can gain a big lead which may give a chance to bowlers to get Sri Lanka out in the second innings and force an outright win.

The two umpires David Shepherd (England) andRudi Koertzen had announce to close the game at 5:30 pm but had to call off the third day's play at 4:32 due to bad light when 18.2 overs were still to be bowled.

The morning session belonged to Sri Lanka while the afternoon session was completely dominated by Pakistan. Opener Arnold and Kaluwitharana batted merrily. Both completed their well-deserved centuries on Saturday to take Sri Lanka near the target that earned it three batting points and a place in the final of the championship at the expense of India. The final ill be played between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at Dhaka from March 12 to 16.

Both Arnold and Kaluwitharana thrashed Fazle Akbar and ShahidAfridi at will. They extended their fifthwicket partnership from overnight score of 33 to 143 to take the Sri Lanka total to 299 before being separated. Both were together at the crease for 146 minutes.

Saqlain Mushtaq broke the flourishing partnership by clean bowling Arnold round his legs with a straight ball that flattened his off-stump. Young Arnold played a classic knock of 123 in 310 minutes under trying circumstances. He faced 208 balls and the most of his 20 were hit through cuts and pulls. Arnold was a model of concentration and application on Friday afternoon but opened out on Saturday morning to exhibit his rich repertoire of strokes.

Hathurusinghe lasted only seven minutes before falling leg before wicket to Shahid Afridi for a duck at the total of 308. He was deceived by a sharp ball which kept low and skidded. That was the only wicket of the innings claimed by the leg-spinner.

Kaluwitharana continued to bat in his swashbuckling style and raced to 97 at lunch. At the break, Sri Lanka reached 317 for six in 79 overs. Kalpage was not out at two.

One failed to understand the wisdom behind continuing with Fazle Akbar and Shahid Afridi in bowling during the morning session despite the fact that the Sri Lanka batsmen were scoring off them at will! Young Shahid Nazir could not make any impact also. Only Saqlain Mushtaq commanded some respect. It looked SriLanka was being given a chance to knock off the required runs to muster three batting points and qualify for the final.

Real drama unfolded during the afternoon session when Wasim Akram ended the Sri Lanka first innings with the best spell of his illustrious career. He sent down 2.2 lethal overs and within 30 minutes of resumption of the game after lunch break, Wasim Akram mopped up the tail, claiming all the four remaining wickets.

Wasim Akram registered first hat trick ever recorded by a Pakistani in test history. He has two hat tricks to his credit in one-day internationals, while Jalaluddin and Aaqib Javed also had recorded a hat trick, each but this was a historic feat. If Saqlain Mushtaq had made dents by removing top-order batsmen, Wasim Akram destroyed the late-order batting.

Kaluwitharana was first victim of Wasim Akram's hat trick. The wicketkeeper edged the first ball of Wasim Akram's ninth over into the hands of wicketkeeper Moin Khan at the total of 320.

On the very next ball, Bandarathilake had his stumps shattered by Wasim Akram as the left-hander tried to flick the delivery but was beaten all ends up.

Third victim of the hat trick was Wickremasinghe. He left the ball but the late inswinger rattled his stumps.

As Wasim Akram completed his hat trick, he was congratulated and embraced by his teammates, who rushed from all parts of the ground towards him to celebrate the historic occasion. A crowd of a few thousand lovers of the game gave Wasim Akram a standing ovation. Sri Lanka slid to 320 for nine.

Sajeeva de Silva hit two boundaries on Wasim's fourth and sixth ball of the over which earned him the hat trick. However, Wasim Akram bowled Sajeeva neck and crop on second ball of his tenth over to wind up the Sri Lanka first innings at 328. It lasted 84.2 overs and consumed 359 minutes.

Kaluwitharana scored a brilliant century in 178 minutes. The diminutive wicketkeeper faced 144 balls and hit 16 boundaries. Kaluwitharana cut, drove, hooked and pulled with commensurate ease and like Arnold played an important role in taking Sri Lanka into the final.

Both Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq got four wickets, each, conceding 30 and 82 runs, respectively. Fazle Akbar and Shahid Afridi claimed one wicket each, giving away 92 and 71 runs, respectively.

Day 4: Sri Lanka get a tough target

Wajahat 3rd Pakistani to hit a century in each innings

LAHORE, March 7: Centuries in each innings by opener Wajahatullah Wasti helped Pakistan set Sri Lanka a difficult target of scoring 385 for a win in the fourth innings on fourth day of the five-day game of the Asian Test Championship at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.

Beginning the second innings sensibly, the Sri Lanka openers Avishka Gunawardena (36 with six boundaries) and Russel Arnold (13 with one four) knocked off 60 runs in 64 minutes without being separated. They played 14 overs boldly. The two umpires David Shepherd (England) and Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) drew stumps, 36 minutes before the decided closing time of 6:30 pm on fourth day due to bad light. Gunawardena played in his flamboyant style while Russel was as composed as he had been in the first innings in which he got a brilliant century. Paceman Wasim Akram himself bowled flat out and also used Fazle Akbar, Shahid Nazir besides off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq but the two openers played daringly on this placid pitch.

The visitors need 325 runs during fifth and last day of this game of the Asian Test Championship, which barring some dramatic happenings, looks heading for a draw on Monday.

On fourth morning of the match, 88 minutes' playing time was lost due to rain and bad weather as game got under way at 11:28 am. While wickets kept on tumbling on the other end, Wajahatullah Wasti batted intelligently to keep one end blocked and had reached 121 not out in his marathon stay of 425 minutes at the crease when captain Wasim Akram decided to declare second innings at 314 for eight, seventy minutes after tea interval.

Wajahat became the third Pakistani to hit a century in each innings of a Test. Earlier, Hanif Muhammad had gained the distinction during the Test against England at Dhaka in 1961-62 and Javed Miandad against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1984-85. Wajahat was a model of concentration and application. Only blemish of his sensible knock registered off 303 balls was when he had narrowly survived a run out attempt on Saturday and the TV monitoring umpire Venkatraghavan had declared him not out.

The opener from Peshawar, Wajahatullah, completed his century in a bold fashion, hitting Kalpage over long-on boundary for the only six of his knock which also included 12 boundaries. Wajahat drove, cut and pulled the ball efficiently to get most ofhis boundaries.

Shahid Afridi along with Wajahat scored 156 runs in 179 minutes for the first wicket partnership and was first to fall on Monday morning. Trying to drive an outswinger from Sajeeva de Silva, Shahid Afridi (84 on 118 balls with one six and 11 boundaries) edged it to Kaluwitharana at the total of 156.

Stylish stroke player, Inzamamul Haq failed yet again. After hitting a boundary, Inzamam tried to pull a straight ball of Sajeeva, which also kept low, missed the line completely and was declared leg before wicket by umpire Rudi Koertzen.

SaeedAnwar and Wajahat were involved in themost productive partnership of the day as both added 66 runs in 104 minutes for the third wicket. Saeed Anwar (45 in 104 minutes with six fours) played a ball from Bandarathilake and was trying to take second run as Sajeeva de Silva ran from the square-leg boundary to pick and send a neat throw to Kaluwitharana who whipped off the bails. The TV monitoring umpire Venkataraghavan declared Saeed Anwar out at the total of 227.

Imran Nazir (13) left a gap while playing a delivery from Bandarathilake and was bowled. Yousuf Youhana (0) came out of his crease to play a flighted ball from Bandarathilake, was deceived and stumped by Kaluwitharana.

Wasim Akram came in to bat at No 7 amidst thunderous applause from a holiday crowd of around 7,000. He hit Kalpage over long-on and long-off boundaries for two huge sixes. After hitting the second one, Wasim Akram (17 in 40 minutes) was clean bowled on Kalpage's next ball while attempting a drive. Moin Khan (2 in 19 minutes) was brilliantly run out by substitute fielder Upul Chandana with a direct throw from deep fine-leg boundary which broke a stump. When Saqlain (9) tried to loft Kalpage's straight ball and missed the line to be stumped by Kaluwitharana, the Pakistan innings was declared by Wasim Akram.

Day 5: Asian Test tie ends in a draw

LAHORE, March 8: The last league game of the Asian Test Championship between Pakistan and Sri Lanka petered out to a dull draw here today. Bad weather hit the fifth day's game badly and only 166 minutes play was possible in which the visitors reached 165 for two in 51.1 overs.

By virtue of hitting a century in each innings of the Test, Wajahatullah Wasti earned ``Man-of-the-Match'' award and was given a cash of $ 5,000.

Both the sides have the consolation of entering into the final of the contest to be played at Dhaka from March 12 to 16. Pakistan has already announced a 14-member team for the final. Fazle Akbar and Muhammad Wasim have been dropped out of the 15 players named for the Dhaka Test and Ejaz Ahmad has been included in the team.

The officiating captain Hashan Tillekeratne said on Mondaythat although he had not been intimated about any changes in the Sri Lanka team yet he expected some players, who might have recovered from injuries, would be sent to Dhaka as a re-inforcement.

Bad light caused suspension of the game 16 minutes after the tea interval again. That followed rain. Covers were put on the pitch and the square. The umpires David Shepherd (England) and Rudi Koertzen (South Africa) walked into the ground at 4:25 pm when rain stopped but finally decided to call off the Test. During the five days of the Test, 107 overs and a total time of 428 minutes was lost due to bad weather.

During the playing time of 166 minutes, Sri Lanka lost two wickets and moved from 60 for no loss to 165. Opener Russel Arnold again batted with confidence and application and had scored 56 at the time of stoppage of play. He hit four boundaries in his 230-minute stay at the crease in which he faced 151 balls. His one blemish was an easy dropped catch by Shahid Afridi at mid-off. Marvan Atapattu scored six in 11 minutes and remained not out.

Opener Avishka Gunawardena was the first man out on Monday at 64. He could add one run to his overnight score of 36 when he missed the line of an inswinger from paceman Shahid Nazir which kept low. Gunawardena tried to play that across theline and as soon as he was struck on the pad, umpire Rudi Koertzen ruled him leg before wicket.

Arnold and Mahela Jayawardene added 94 runs for the second wicket partnership in 142 minutes. Jayawardene edged an out-swinger from captain Wasim Akram and wicketkeeper Moin Khan held a good catch. Jayawardene hit a stylish fifty in 142 minutes on 93 balls and struck five fours.

This Test will always be remembered for two outstanding performances. Wasim Akram became the first Pakistani and the first Asian to register a hat trick. Wajahatullah Wasti became the third Pakistani to hit a century in each innings of the Test. Arnold scored 123 in the first innings and 56 not out in the second. Paceman Pramodaya Wickremasinghe took six wickets for 103 runs in the first innings.