Srilanka Vs Pakistan 3rd test Day3 Cricinfo

Younis century leads Pakistan resistance

Pakistan gave yet another demonstration of how far they have progressed from their collapse-prone avatar of recent years by posting a solid 282 for 6 on the third day of the final Test in Sharjah. The three middle-order batsmen instrumental in providing steel to the Pakistan line-up over the past year all made substantial contributions on a track which was truer than expected. Younis Khan made the biggest impact by going on to his 18th Test century, Azhar Ali collected his sixth 50-plus score in five Tests and Misbah-ul-Haq helped himself to another laboriously crafted half-century.

Full report to follow

Tea Pakistan 199 for 3 (Younis 100*, Misbah 16*) trail Sri Lanka 413 by 214 runs

Younis Khan calmly progressed to his 18th Test century to guide Pakistan's strong reply on the third day in Sharjah. Sri Lanka would have expected to take more than the one wicket they managed in the first two sessions given how much the ball spun and bounced late on the second day, but the track had eased out, giving the bowlers little joy.

Azhar Ali continued his outstanding run of form, making his sixth 50-plus score in his previous five Tests, to help Younis blunt Sri Lanka in the morning. The pair needed 52 deliveries to get their first run of the partnership but then stepped up the pace to put together one of the most productive batting sessions of the Test.

Younis needed 30 deliveries to get off the mark, but then showed positive intent to reach his half-century just before lunch. There was no better sign of his growing confidence than his big grin after muscling Rangana Herath for a one-bounce four over extra cover in the 39th over. He was particularly good on the sweep shot against the spinners, though he did survive a close call for lbw when on 30 after missing an attempted sweep.

Pakistan had begun the day watchfully, with three maidens on the trot. Both Chanka Welegedara and Kosala Kulasekara bowled at a gentle pace, but got some movement to induce some play-and-misses from the batsmen. They weren't able to prise out a wicket though, and every time they strayed, Pakistan's batsmen capitalised.

It was one of those loose deliveries that helped Pakistan end a series of nine successive maidens. Azhar slashed a short and wide ball from Kulasekara past cover to get Pakistan going in the morning. Most of his six boundaries came when the quicks either drifted on to the pads or provided him plenty of width. The most anxious moment for him in his unbeaten 48 was a leading edge past second slip off Welegedara just before lunch.

The second session began with Herath bowling well outside leg stump, trying to get some turn out of the rough. That did produce a leading edge off Younis, but there were no major alarms and the tactic only helped to stifle the runs. Kulasekara, forced off the field in the morning due to a bloodied thumb after a botched fielding effort, returned to produce the breakthrough Sri Lanka were desperately seeking, getting a ball to snake in sharply to beat Azhar's bat and crash into off stump.

That brought in Misbah-ul-Haq, who was extremely watchful, even by his own leisurely standards, laboriously making his way to 2 off 52 deliveries. Younis, though, showed he didn't want to be bogged down, sashaying down the track to launch Herath over long-on for a boundary. He continued to show the versatility of sweep shot, hitting everything from a brutal slog-sweep for six to a fine paddle for four. His only moment of concern was when he was hit on the helmet by a throw from mid-off as he completed a tight single.

It was a race against the clock to reach his century before tea, and he managed to get there in the final over of the session, pushing the ball to cover to zip through for a single. His effort has dramatically improved Pakistan's chances of providing their fans some good news in the form a Test series win during a dark week for Pakistan cricket.