Sri Lanka-Pakistan Tests were keenly contested

Chris DHAMBARAGE

Sri Lanka and Pakistan have always fought out many fascinating Test matches ever since their inaugural contest way back in 1981/82. In fact Sri Lanka's maiden overseas tour was to Pakistan where they figured in a three Test series and the same number of one day internationals soon after their historic home Test against England.

This first ever series turned out to be a memorable one to some of the players although they lost the battle by two matches to nil. Stylish opening batsman Sidath Wettimuny became the country's first Test centurion when he hammered a magnificent 157 in the first innings of the second Test.

Even then Pakistan held their dominance in most of the matches before Sri Lanka eventually broke the shackles with their maiden Test victory during the home series in 1985/86.

However their first ever Test triumph in Pakistan was recorded almost ten years later when Arjuna Ranatunga performed the near impossibility against a star studded line up.

This tour had a great amount of significance as the Lankans also registered their first ever Test series victory against Pakistan.

The manner in which they completed their task was really outstanding as they came from behind with a magnificent performance to snatch the third and final Test and with that the series. They were almost down and out after a crushing defeat in the opening match.

However they regrouped and got their act together well from the second Test onwards and went on to pull off the third Test too following some brilliant bowling from the trio of Muttiah Muralitharan, Chaminda Vaas and Pramodaya Wickremasinghe.

The Sri Lankan batsmen who shined in this historic series were skipper Arjuna Ranatunga, Hashan Tillekeratne and Chandika Hathurusinghe.

Before that there have been several outstanding individual contributions with both bat and ball but they have struggled to play as a team and have ended up in the losing side.

In addition fast bowler Ravi Ratnayake's eight wickets for 83 was a gallant effort considering the situation of the game during the 1985/86 series which also saw the emergence of the dynamic Aravinda de Silva who was able to score two hundreds from this Pakistan bowling attack which was spearheaded by the charismatic Imran Khan.

Sri Lanka returned back to Pakistan in 1999/2000 and went on to take the series 2-1 while winning the opening two test matches in an exciting manner. In fact the first test will always be remembered for the sheer determination of Arjuna Ranatunga who batted with a broken thumb to steer his side towards victory.

Muttiah Muralitharan then tormented Pakistanis in the second test with a matchbag of ten wickets that clinched the series although the home side went on to register a consolation win in the third and final test.

Sri Lanka drew the 2004/05 series in Pakistan while winning the opening test in Faisalabad before going down in the second test in Karachi. Dashing opener Sanath Jayasuriya hammered a magnificent 253 in the second innings of the first test after Thilan Samaraweera had scored his first Test hundred outside Sri Lanka.

The second Test was full of feats of individual brilliance, highlighted with landmarks and complete with a result that could have gone either way.

Pakistan won the match to square the series but Sri Lanka - 270 behind on first innings - showed real fighting spirit before Danish Kaneria, whose 7 for 118 finally wrapped up their second innings, leaving Pakistan just 137 to chase.

Karachi, Friday

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Afridi to quit Test cricket?

Dynamic Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi is seriously considering retiring from Test cricket after national selectors ignored him for the two-match home series against Sri Lanka starting today.

The 28-year-old Afridi said that he was disappointed over his failure to impress the selectors ahead of the opening Test against Sri Lanka and added that he would retire from Test cricket if Pakistan continued to ignore him for the longer version of the game.

"I was looking forward to earning a place in the Test squad," said Afridi, who has not been in Pakistan`s Test picture for almost three years. "But I respect the selectors` decision," he stressed.

Afridi played the last of his 26 Tests in the summer of 2006 against England in Manchester. Since then national selectors have curtailed his role to One Day Internationals and Twenty20 internationals.

Afridi shot to instant fame on his debut as a 16-year-old in 1996 when he scored the fastest One Day International century against Sri Lana in Nairobi. He has so far played 271 One-Day Internationals, scoring 5,531 runs and taking 243 wickets.

However his Test career is less impressive, having scored 1,683 runs from 26 Tests with 47 wickets. Afridi was given a lifeline by national selectors when he was picked to lead the Patron`s XI against the visiting Sri Lankans in a two-day warm-up game in Karachi on February 17-18.

But despite hitting a 29-ball 49, Afridi was unable to convince the selectors that he deserved a Test recall. CD