Inzamam holds fort with blazing ton

Inzamam holds fort with blazing ton
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE

KARACHI, March 14: Inzamam-ul-Haq guided Pakistan to a commanding position on the third day of the third and final Test against Sri Lanka here on Tuesday.

At stumps Pakistan were 375-7 and enjoyed an overall lead of 404 with skipper Moin Khan batting on 51 and Waqar Younis on 18 on a day carried by Haq and dominated by the Pakistan batsmen.

The home team seemed poised to restore their dented pride after losing the one-day series 3-0 and the first two Tests to Sri Lanka and to maintain their unbeaten 33-Test run Karachi's at National Stadium.

Pakistan gained the upper hand for the first time in the series through a brilliant knock of 138 by Haq and a fine 61 by Younis Khan.

Haq was finally caught at long off on a miscued lofted drive off Muttiah Muralitharan after a 335-minute stay at the crease. He faced 243 balls hitting 17 boundaries and a six.

He wisely used his feet off the dangerous Muralitharan to nullify his turn and completed his ninth hundred in 243 minutes off 180 balls carting 13 boundaries and a six.

Haq, who scored a polished 86 in the first innings, found a perfect ally in Younis Khan who made 61 and both added a record 124 runs for the sixth wicket cutting down to size the Sri Lankan bowling attack on a easy paced pitch.

Haq, a well-built batsman from Multan, had one blemish in what was only his second hundred on home turf, when he was let off in the slips by Tillekeratne Dilshan off Chaminda Vaas when on 56.

The 30-year-old Haq achieved a personal milestone during the innings when he reached 4,000 runs in Test cricket, the fifth Pakistani to do so.

He joins the ranks of Javed Miandad (8,832), Salim Malik (5,768), Zaheer Abbas (5,062) and Mudassar Nazar (4,114). He also completed 1000 runs against Sri Lanka in 12 Tests and celebrated his appointment as vice captain for the first time

Younis was a fitting partner to Haq and both built up commanding positions.

Younis Khan, who hit a debut century in the first Test, reached his first 50 in 102 minutes off 84 balls smacking seven fours and a six off captain Sanath Jayasuriya.

Jayasuriya took the second new ball in an attempt to break the deadlock in the 82nd over but his bowlers failed to keep a probing line and length.

At tea Pakistan were 273-5, adding 113 runs in the second session without losing a wicket.

Younis was finally out hooking to Pramodya Wickremasinghe and was caught by wicketkeeper Romesh Kaluwitharana after spending 136 minutes at the crease gliding in eight fours and a six.

The Inzamam-Younis stand beats Pakistan's previous sixth wicket record against Sri Lanka of 100, forged by Imran Khan and Zaheer Abbas in Lahore in 1981.

Moin Khan notched up his 14th half century hitting six fours to put the tourists under the further pressure of a big target.

Scoreboard

Pakistan 1st Innings: 256

Sri Lanka 1st innings: 227

Pakistan 2nd innings: (overnight 88-3); M Naveed lbw b Muralitharan 27, S Afridi b Pushpakumara 34, I Ahmed c Dilshan b Muralitharan 3, I Haq c Wickremasinghe b Muralitharan 138, S Akhtar lbw b Vaas 0, Y Youhanna c Kaluwitharana b Pushpakumara 11, Y Khan c Kaluwitharana b Wickremasinghe 61, M Khan batting 51, W Younis batting 18. Extras: (lb 15, nb 17) 32. Total: (for 7 wkts, in 121 overs) 375

Fall of wickets: 1-70, 2-70, 3-84, 4-106, 5-159, 6-283,7-320

Bowling: Vaas 30-8-95-1, Pushpakumara 18-3-58-2, Wickremasinghe 23-7-67-1, Muralitharan 37-6-97-3, Jayasuriya 9-1-28-0, Arnold 4-0-15-0.