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LAHORE, Pakistan, Friday (AFP) - Young Pakistan pacer Mohammad Sami scored a hat-trick but defeat still loomed for his team at the hands of Sri Lanka in the Asian Test championship final on the third day at Gaddafi stadium here Friday.

When it became too dark, even with floodlights, the umpires called off the game seven overs short with Pakistan on 193-5 facing a daunting 294 to avoid an innings defeat.

Magic off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan snared three wickets to help Sri Lanka force their ninth consecutive win with the home team struggling throughout their second innings.

Experienced batsman Inzamam-ul Haq held the fort and was unbeaten on 38 and Shoaib Malik on six as Pakistan need another 101 runs to avert an innings thrashing with two full days to play.

Sri Lanka's first innings folded at 528 as Sami ran through the lower order.

Pakistan batsmen again failed to occupy the crease to counter the Sri Lankan pressure as they played reckless shots and brought about their own demise.

Overcast conditions brought floodlights into action in the seventh over of Pakistan's innings, which got off to another poor start when in the ninth over Taufiq Umer was bowled pushing tentatively at pacer Chaminda Vaas's delivery for 19.

Younis Khan and Shahid Afridi took Pakistan to 63-1 but in the second over after tea Khan failed to keep down a flick off Nuwan Zoysa and was smartly picked up at square leg by Thilan Samaraweera for 19.

Afridi lived dangerously and was dropped on six by skipper Sanath Jayasuriya off Vaas.

Afridi completed his fourth Test half century off 74 balls with seven boundaries and a six but failed to read a straighter one from Muralitharan and was stumped by Kumar Sangakkara for 70.

Pakistan's most talented batsman Yousuf Youhana lasted only 11 deliveries before he recklessly holed out at long on off Muralitharan for seven.

Play was halted for 10 minutes due to power failure but the home team's fortunes did not change as Abdur Razzaq followed Youhana when he was trapped leg before off a vicious incoming delivery from Muralitharan to leave Pakistan struggling at 181-5.

Earlier Sami dismissed Buddhika Fernando in the last ball before lunch. With his next two deliveries after the break, he took out Nuwan Zoysa and Muttiah Muralitharan to become Pakistan's third bowler to achieve a Test hat-trick, and the 30th in 127 years of Test cricket.

Pacer Wasim Akram and Abdur Razzaq have also recorded hat-tricks, Akram in both forms of the game.

"I am delighted and it's a great honour to join my favourite bowler Akram as a bowler with hat-tricks in one-dayers and Tests," an elated Sami said.

Sami, who returned with 4-120, also recorded a one-day hat-trick against West Indies in Sharjah last month thus becoming only the second bowler in the world alongside Akram with Test and one-day hat-tricks.

Akram, however, holds the unique record of two hat-tricks each in both forms of the game.

Kumar Sangakkara had built the cornerstone of visitors' first innings by hitting a dazzling 230 on day two.

Resuming at 447-5, Sri Lankan pair Chaminda Vaas and Tillekeratne Hashan added 54 runs for the sixth wicket and posted their team's highest Test score at 500 runs.

Sri Lanka's previous best innings Test total against Pakistan was 479 made at Faisalabad in 1985-86.

Razzaq dismissed Vaas for 43 and then Shoaib Akhtar had Thilan Samaraweera for eight before Sami came into his own.

Razzaq returned with 3-82 while Akhtar took 2-114.

Pakistan won the inaugural Asian Test championship in 1998-99, which India also competed in. India, however, pulled out of this second championship maintaining its boycott of cricket with Pakistan over the Kashmir dispute.

PAKISTAN - 1ST INNINGS 234 (M. Murlitharan 4-55)

SRI LANKA - 1ST INNINGS (447-5 overnight) 

M. Atapattu c Akhtar b Waqar Younis 0 S. Jayasuriya c Latif b Abdur Razzaq 88 K. Sangakkara c Khan b Abdur Razzaq 230 M. Jayawardena c Inzamam b M. Sami 68 R. Arnold b Shoaib Akhtar 44 C. Vaas c Taufeeq Umer b Abdur Razzaq 43 H. Tillekeratne not out 19 T. Samaraweera c Latif b Shoaib Akhtar 8 B. Fernando lbw b Mohammad Sami 7 N. Zoysa lbw b Mohammad Sami 0 M. Muralitharan b Mohammad Sami 0

Extras (B-1 LB-7 NB-8 W-5) 21

TOTAL (all out) 528

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-0, 2-203, 3-376, 4-447, 5-447, 6-501, 7-519, 8-528, 9-528.

BOWLING: Waqar Younis 30-4-123-1, Shoaib Akhtar 27-4-114-2 (NB-5), Mohammad Sami 36.5-4-120-4 (NB-1 W-5), Abdur Razzaq 29-5-82-3 (NB-2), Shoaib Malik 14-3-55-0, Shahid Afridi 3-0-26-0.

PAKISTAN - 2ND INNINGS 

S. Afridi st Sangakkara b Muralitharan 70 Taufeeq Umar b Vaas 19 Younis Khan c Samaraweera b Zoysa 19 Inzamam-ul-Haq not out 38 Y. Youhana c Atapattu b Muralitharan 7 Abdur Razzaq lbw b Muralitharan 5 Shoaib Malik not out 6

Extras (LB-2 B-10 NB-17) 29

TOTAL (for five wickets) 193

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-31, 2-66, 3-150, 4-166, 5-181.

BOWLING: Vaas 10-2-41-1 (NB-6), Zoysa 8-0-20-1 (NB-2), Fernando 9-1-49-0 (NB-9), Muralitharan 15-2-39-3, Jayasuriya 1-0-7-0, Thilan Samaraweera 9-1-25-0. 

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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