Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood Propel Pakistan After Bowlers Delight

24.07.2023 - 14:31 sports.ndtv.com

Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood smashed half-centuries to help Pakistan take the opening day honours after they bundled out Sri Lanka for 166 in the second Test on Monday.

Pakistan, who lead the two-match series 1-0, reached 145-2 at stumps, trailing Sri Lanka by 21 runs in Colombo. Shafique, on 74, and skipper Babar Azam, on eight, were at the crease when bad light stopped play for the day.

Shafique put on a second-wicket stand of 108 with the left-handed Masood, who made 51, to put Sri Lanka on the backfoot with their attacking play.

Bowlers set up Pakistan's dominance after leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed and fast bowler Naseem Shah shared seven wickets between them to dismiss the hosts in the second session.

cricket Sri Lanka Cricket Team Pakistan Cricket Team Babar Azam Shan Masood Dhananjaya De-Silva Abdullah Shafique Sri Lanka Pakistan

Pakistan national men's selection committee on Wednesday named the squads for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan and the Asia Cup 2023. The announcement came as a surprise for many fans as Shan Masood and Ihsanullah have been dropped from the side. Apart from them, another exclusion that left everyone utterly shocked was of batter Saud Shakeel, who has not been included in the Asia Cup squad. Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal came in support of Shakeel and stated that the 27-year-old batter has the potential to reach the level of Virat Kohli and Babar Azam.

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Pakistan national men's selection committee on Wednesday named the squads for the upcoming three-match ODI series against Afghanistan and the Asia Cup 2023. An 18-player squad will take on Afghanistan in Sri Lanka from 22 till 26 August and it will be trimmed to 17 players for the Asia Cup. Shan Masood and Ihsanullah have been dropped from the side, which played New Zealand in the five ODIs in April and May to miss out. Also, Saud Shakeel has only been included for the Afghanistan series.

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Babar Azam is currently taking part in the Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2023 in Sri Lanka and he has been a top performer for his side Colombo Strikers. The Pakistan cricket team skipper earlier revealed that he plans to get ready for the Asia Cup by playing in Sri Lankan conditions and his showing has been quite impressive till now. Babar scored a brilliant century and stitched together a 111-run partnership with Niroshan Pathum Nissanka to guide his team to victory. However, it was his act after the match that has gone viral on social media. In a video, he can be seen asking the organisers to quickly conduct the interviews as he was getting late for his prayers.

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