LAHORE-Abdullah Shafique’s maiden double hundred and Salman Ali Agha’s second century put Pakistan in a commanding position against Sri Lanka on third day of the second Test match at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo on Wednesday.
According to information received here, at the close of the third day, Pakistan were 563 for five in 132 overs, leading by 397 runs. Earlier, resuming their first innings at the overnight score of 178 for two, Pakistan lost their captain Babar Azam, when he was playing at 39 off 75 balls with the help of four boundaries and one six. The skipper could add just 11 runs to his overnight score. 
After Babar Azam’s departure in the 48th over, double centurion from first Test match Saud Shakeel joined Abdullah and the pair added significant 109 runs for the fourth-wicket partnership. During 57-run innings, Saud became the only batter in the world to score six half-centuries in seven Test matches with two centuries.
After Saud’s departure, wicketkeeper-batter Sarfaraz Ahmed gathered 14 runs off 22 balls, hitting three boundaries, before getting hurt when he was struck on the head by Asitha Fernando’s bouncer in the 86th over of the innings and had to return back to the pavilion. Later, he was substituted with Mohammad Rizwan, who came in as concussion substitute.
Abdullah was the next batter to return back to the hut after scoring 201 runs off 326 balls, which included 19 fours and four sixes. Agha Salman was then joined by Rizwan in the middle and the pair stitched an unbroken 95 runs for the sixth wicket. Agha struck 15 fours and one six during his unbeaten 132-run knock which came off 148 balls. Rizwan returned undefeated on 37 off 61, hitting one four and a six.
Right-handed opener Abdullah Shafique shared his insights, saying, “I practiced with Sri Lanka’s conditions in mind. Before coming here, I knew it would be spin-friendly, so I focused on perfecting my sweep shot. In Test matches, the game changes with each session, so we aimed to maintain our initial intent throughout the innings. The rain interruption disrupted our momentum, but we adapted our plans accordingly.”
Abdullah emphasized the universal aspect of dealing with bad days for professional players, saying, “Every player goes through it; it happens to everyone. However, a good cricketer is one who quickly works on his weaknesses to overcome such phases. When I wasn’t performing well, I diligently worked on my mistakes, which brought a good improvement in me,” he added.
“The management and captain Babar Azam were incredibly helpful. They never made me feel like I wasn’t scoring enough runs.” Abdullah, aged 23y and 246days, also achieved the distinction of becoming the third-youngest Pakistani player to score a Test double century, following Javed Miandad (19y and 140d) and Hanif Mohammad (23y and 27).