Watch: In an electric burst of reverse-swing bowling, Naseem Shah claimed three wickets in six balls, wrapping up a record-breaking Test win for Pakistan and denying his teammate Noman Ali a shot at a ten-wicket haul in the process.
Noman was the star throughout the majority of Sri Lanka’s second innings against Pakistan, taking the first seven wickets as the hosts slumped in the face of a huge deficit.
The left-arm spinner continued to wheel away in pursuit of a record feat, achieved by only three other men in Test history. However, Naseem, at the other end, had begun to find some tail, and soon he was the focus of attention.
It seemed as if Naseem’s luck was out as three reviews off consecutive balls to Ramesh Mendis were all either turned down or overturned, as the umpires struggled to deal with the movement through the air as much as the batters. Noman then had Mendis stumped to keep his dream of all ten alive.
Within three overs, the game was done – and Noman had to settle for seven. Naseem first bowled Prabath Jayasuriya for nought, the ball swinging in from way outside off stump and crashing into the poles as he left alone. Next over, he had Asitha Fernando bowled off stump as well, before finishing the innings off with a searing yorker to Dilshan Madushanka, who was also bowled.
Pakistan wrapped up victory by an innings and 222 runs, their biggest ever away from home.
