
Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka by a whopping margin in the second and final Test, in Colombo, to inflict a series whitewash over the hapless Islanders on Thursday (July 27). Being at their dominant best from the word go, Babar Azam & Co. beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs to make it two wins in a row in the new 2023-25 ICC World Test Championship (WTC) cycle and continue their dominance at the top in the overall standings.
Talking about the second and final Test, Sri Lanka opted to bat first. However, nothing clicked for them as Abrar Ahmed's 4 for 69 and Naseem Shah's 3 for 41 saw the home side get dismissed for a paltry 166. In reply, Pakistan scored at a brisk rate and rode on Abdullah Shafique's 201 and Agha Salman's 132 not out to declare after posting a mammoth 576 for 5. In the second innings, veteran spinner Noman Ali ended with 7 for 70 as the Lankans continued to struggle with the bat and were dismissed for 180 on Thursday.
Here's the updated WTC points table after Pakistan's series whitewash over SL
After the Test series win, Pakistan captain Babar said at the post-match presentation,"Very proud to win the series, all credit to the boys and the coaching staff who've worked hard from the last 3-4 months. Everyone put in their efforts for us to win the series. We ticked all the boxes, we worked hard on batting and fielding, not a lot of it in the pitch for the pacers, but they bowled really well in both Tests. This is a team game, Saud in the first Test and Abdullah here were outstanding. We are taking it series by series and will try to perform at our best. We have a plan, we decided to play positive cricket and play up to our strengths, we want an improvement of at least 5-10%, it's not easy to win here, but I think we dominated them in both matches."
While it is early days in the ongoing WTC cycle, Pakistan have started off on a positive note and will like to maintain their good form going forward. Their litmus test will be the tour of Australia, which will commence later this year.
WATCH WION LIVE HERE
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.