Test cricket often pretends to reward patience alone, but the Galle Test reminded us that intent, when applied intelligently, can be just as decisive. Pakistan’s ten-wicket victory over Sri Lanka was not merely a reversal of fortunes from a precarious position; it was a statement about how this side is evolving. From the calm authority of Misbah-ul-Haq to the audacity of Sarfraz Ahmed, from Yasir Shah’s wrist-spin to Wahab Riaz’s reawakened aggression, Pakistan did not stumble into victory; they engineered it.
At the start of the fourth morning, Pakistan were five
wickets down and 182 runs behind. In Galle, against spin-savvy Sri Lankan
batsmen, such a deficit is usually terminal. The ghosts of 2014 lingered
heavily—when Rangana Herath had spun Pakistan into submission and chased down a
target with ease. This time, however, the script flipped. Pakistan not only
escaped defeat, but they dominated the game thereafter.
The turning point was not subtle. It came through Sarfraz
Ahmed’s unorthodox defiance and Asad Shafiq’s classical solidity, a
sixth-wicket partnership that did more than add runs—it changed the
psychological ownership of the match. Sarfraz’s 96 off 86 balls was a direct
challenge to Sri Lanka’s bowlers and, more importantly, to the assumptions of
subcontinental Test batting. While others might have retreated into survival
mode, Sarfraz advanced, swept, improvised, and disrupted rhythm. His method was
risky, but it was calculated risk—rooted in confidence earned during Pakistan’s
previous tour, when he was one of the few batsmen to blunt Herath consistently.
Shafiq, at the other end, was the perfect counterweight. His
seventh Test hundred was a masterclass in situational awareness. He defended
with discipline, rotated strike intelligently, and allowed Sarfraz to dictate
tempo. Together, they turned a looming follow-on into a commanding lead. By the
time Pakistan were bowled out, they had flipped a 182-run deficit into a
117-run advantage—an extraordinary swing that exposed Sri Lanka’s lack of
bowling depth beyond Herath.
If the partnership shifted momentum, Yasir Shah sealed
destiny. Pakistan needed someone to replicate what Herath had done to them a
year earlier at the same venue. Yasir did exactly that, and sooner than
expected. His first ball of the fifth morning, a perfectly disguised
topspinner, dismissed the nightwatchman Dilruwan Perera and set the tone. From
there, his spell became a lesson in wrist-spin artistry: dip, drift, bounce,
and relentless accuracy.
Sri Lanka’s batsmen did not collapse immediately, but they
eroded themselves through impatience. The pitch had slowed; survival was
possible. What was missing was restraint. Dimuth Karunaratne’s dismissal—after
173 balls—epitomised the problem. Trying to hit his way out of pressure, he
attempted an ill-judged heave and lost his wicket. The younger batsmen followed
similar paths, mistaking stagnation for danger.
The most controversial moment was Angelo Mathews’ dismissal,
caught at short leg off Yasir. Replays were inconclusive, highlighting the
limitations of technology in three-dimensional judgment. Yet even controversy
could not disguise the broader truth: Sri Lanka were being out-thought and
out-executed. Once Mathews fell, Yasir grew sharper, energised by the sense
that the match was slipping decisively Pakistan’s way.
Behind the stumps, Sarfraz completed three stumpings,
reinforcing his growing reputation as one of the most alert wicketkeepers in
the game. When Yasir finally dismissed Dinesh Chandimal—his seventh wicket—it
was fitting that it came via flight and deception rather than brute turn. The
match was over in everything but formality.
This victory also validated Misbah-ul-Haq’s much-debated
decision to bowl first after the opening day was washed out. With limited time
available, Pakistan’s only realistic route to victory was to bat once and force
the game. That they came close to winning by an innings only underlines the
clarity of planning behind the decision. This was not reactive captaincy; it
was proactive calculation.
Equally significant was the return of edge, embodied most
vividly by Wahab Riaz. For years after the spot-fixing scandal that cost
Pakistan Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, something intangible was missing from
the fast-bowling attack. Discipline replaced menace; caution dulled instinct.
Wahab’s aggression—especially his short-pitched barrage at Kumar
Sangakkara—felt like a throwback to Pakistan’s fast-bowling lineage. It was
hostile, confrontational, and unapologetic. Not coincidentally, it was effective.
Wahab’s resurgence did not begin in Galle but found its
clearest expression there. His duel with Sangakkara was one of the defining
subplots of the match, a reminder that Test cricket still accommodates personal
battles within its broader narrative. He may not always deliver immaculate
figures, but his presence restores unpredictability, a quality Pakistan have
historically thrived on.
This win also marked Pakistan’s 123rd Test victory, taking
them past India as the most successful Test side from the subcontinent. More
than the statistics, Misbah emphasised the composition of the triumph:
youngsters stepping up, seniors unburdened, and a team identity forming.
Sarfraz, Shafiq, Yasir, Azhar Ali—these are not placeholders; they are pillars
in the making.
There were flaws, of course. The openers failed again in the
first innings. Junaid Khan went wicketless. Fielding lapses offered Sri Lanka
early reprieves. Yet what stood out was the absence of panic. Misbah’s Pakistan
no longer chase perfection; they pursue coherence.
The Galle Test was not just a victory over Sri Lanka. It was
a victory over memory over the scars of 2014, over the inertia of the
post-fixing years, over the temptation to settle for draws away from home.
Pakistan won because it chose to impose itself, and in doing so,
rediscovered something essential: belief sharpened by intent.
In Test cricket, turnarounds like this are rare. When they
happen, they reveal more than skill; they reveal character. And in Galle,
Pakistan showed they are once again a side capable of shaping matches, not
merely surviving them.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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