Watch: Pakistan sent left-arm spinner Noman Ali as the nightwatch to see out the last few overs of Day Four of the first Test against Sri Lanka, but he was involved in a disastrous misjudgement which ended in him being runout before the end of the day.
Riding on of Saud Shakeel’s record-breaking double hundred in the first innings, Pakistan notched up a lead of 149 on Day Three. Sri Lanka needed to bat big enough in the third innings to not only overcome that deficit but also set up a defendable target for Pakistan.
However, they folded for 279, giving Pakistan a target of 131 and three and a half sessions to get those runs. Noman was the star of the show with the ball for Pakistan in the third innings, taking 3-75.
He dismissed three of Sri Lanka’s top four batters: Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, and Angelo Mathews, either getting them caught behind the wicket or LBW.
Pakistan were left with 15 overs to bat on day four. They did not get off to a good start. Abdullah Shafique was dismissed by Prabath Jayasuriya, followed by Shan Masood.
With less than five overs to go before stumps on day four, Pakistan decided to send Noman as the nightwatchman in an attempt to protect their captain Babar Azam.
However, the move fell flat on its face as Noman was dismissed before stumps in a needless fashion, attempting a non-existent second run on the last ball of the over, defying all logic.
As he tried to get back for the second run at the non-striker’s end, he fell well short of his crease and had to make the long walk back, eventually forcing Babar to walk out to bat before Stumps on Day four.
Pakistan finished on 48-3 and need another 83 runs to go 1-0 ahead in the series.
