Ton-up Shafique, skipper Azam drives Pakistan's record chase at Galle

Opener Abdullah Shafique hit a gritty century to keep Pakistan in the hunt to chase down a victory target of 342 in the opening Test against Sri Lanka on Tuesday.

Pakistan ended day four on 222 for three, still needing 120 runs to take the lead in the two-match series at Galle, where the highest successful fourth-innings chase is 268 by Sri Lanka against New Zealand in 2019.

Sri Lanka need seven wickets to get their second straight win at a venue where they beat Australia last week to end that two-match series level at 1-1.

Shafique, batting on 112, and skipper Babar Azam, who made 55, put together 101 runs for the third wicket, but spinner Prabath Jayasuriya broke through just a few overs before the close of play.

"He is one of the best players, so he provided good support while batting and guided me all along on how to play," Shafique, who called his ton a "special one", said of captain Azam.

"So was a not a good thing when he got out, but now the responsibility lies on me."

Left-arm spinner Jayasuriya bowled talisman Azam around the batsman's legs with a delivery that spun sharply from outside leg to rattle the stumps of the right-hander, who looked visibly shocked.

Wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan was batting on seven at stumps alongside Shafique, who had so far faced 289 balls and hit five boundaries and one six.

Pakistan began strongly with an 87-run partnership between Shafique and fellow opener Imam-ul-Haq, who made 35, but an alert stumping from wicketkeeper Niroshan Dickwella broke the stand.

The left-handed Imam missed a delivery from off-spinner Ramesh Mendis and Dickwella clipped off the bails, with the decision going up to the third umpire.

Various TV angles established that Imam's foot was just millimetres off