Sri Lanka vs. Pakistan, 3rd Test, Day 3: Highlights, Scorecard and Report

Sri Lanka seized a stranglehold on the third Test against Pakistan on Sunday, as they batted themselves into a lead of 291, closing on 228 for five at stumps.

The hosts took just two overs to bowl Pakistan out for 215 after they had resumed on 209 for nine. And despite the loss of early wickets, a captain's innings of 77 not out from Angelo Mathews means Pakistan are facing a big fight to save the game and the three-match series, which is currently level at 1-1.

			Runs	Minutes	Balls	Fours	Sixes
Sarfraz Ahmed	not out		78	154	104	6	0
Misbah-ul-Haq	lbw	b Pradeep	6	18	17	1	0
Ehsan Adil	lbw	b Kaushal	0		1	0	0
Yasir Shah	c Chandimal	b Prasad	18	50	37	1	0
Rahat Ali	lbw	b Kaushal	2	8	11	0	0
Imran Khan		b Kaushal	0	21	8	0	0
Extras		2nb 1w 0b 4lb	7
Total		all out (66.0 ovs)	215
Bowler				Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Prasad				19.0	1	78	3
Lakmal				14.0	1	64	0
Pradeep				15.0	5	29	3
Mathews				4.0	1	3	0
Kaushal				14.0	1	37	3

Even though they resumed with bat in hand on Day 3, after some late wickets on Saturday these three sessions were always going to be about bowling for Pakistan. Indeed, it was no surprise when Imran Khan was bowled by Tharindu Kaushal in just the second over of the day.

Warren Little/Getty Images

It meant the tourists were all out for 215 and Sarfraz Ahmed was stranded unbeaten on 78. While the wicketkeeper will have been disappointed to see his team-mates crumble, from a personal point of view it was an innings that took him past a landmark in terms of batting averages, per Cricket Record:

"

High batting ave as Keeper (1000+ Test runs) 58.26 AB de Villiers 53.70 AFlower 50.30 Sarfraz Ahmed 47.60 Gilchrist 46.45 BJ Watling #SLvPAK

— Cricket Record (@cricinfo_record) July 5, 2015"

With regards to the game itself, Sri Lank had the best part of three days and a lead of 63 runs to play with, making them massive favourites for victory.

			Runs	Minutes	Balls	Fours	Sixes
Karunaratne		b Rahat Ali	10	27	26	0	0
K Silva	c Misbah-ul-Haq	b Ehsan Adil	3	38	16	0	0
Tharanga	c Azhar Ali	b Yasir Shah	48	90	47	6	0
Thirimanne		b Rahat Ali	0	19	11	0	0
Mathews	not out		77	261	177	6	1
Mubarak	c Azhar Ali	b Yasir Shah	35	122	94	6	0
Chandimal	not out		39	78	47	5	0
Extras		0nb 3w 4b 9lb	16
Total		for 5 (69.4 ovs)	228
Bowler				Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Rahat Ali				15.0	3	58	2
Ehsan Adil				14.0	4	46	1
Imran Khan				10.4	2	27	0
Yasir Shah				25.0	4	70	2
Azhar Ali				5.0	1	14	0

Pakistan rallied with the ball initially, though. After his stunning century in the first innings, Dimuth Karunaratne would have been the prize wicket for the touring bowlers. And much to their delight, the young opener was gone in the seventh over for just 10, bowled by the excellent Rahat Ali.

Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

It set a positive tone for Pakistan, who were bright in the field. The very next over Kaushal Silva was gone for just three after edging behind to Misbah-ul-Haq off the bowling of Ehsan Adil. When Ali bowled Lahiru Thirimanne for a duck to leave the hosts on 35 for three, Sri Lanka were rocking.

But even former Sri Lanka player Russel Arnold was appreciating the quality of the opposition bowling:

After helping steady the ship with a solid 48, Upul Tharanga was next to go for the hosts, but by this point Sri Lankan nerves had settled slightly. Indeed, when Jehan Mubarak joined Mathews at the crease, the pair sapped any early impetus accrued by Pakistan and reasserted Sri Lanka’s dominant position.

Martin Hunter/Getty Images

They put on 81 for the fifth wicket before Jehan was snaffled by Yasir Shah for 35 and although Sri Lanka weren’t looking too healthy at 161 for five, a lead of 224 had been established. Mathews was playing superbly too.

As noted by ESPN Cricinfo as Mathews passed 50, given the situation when the Sri Lanka skipper strode to the crease, he’d done a wonderful job:

Alongside Dinesh Chandimal, who finished the day unbeaten on 39, Mathews saw Sri Lanka through the remainder of the day, with the umpires calling stumps because of bad light. The hosts will resume on 228 for five, 291 runs ahead.

The deficit is an intimidating one for Pakistan, as we can see here courtesy of cricket statistician Mohandas Menon:

It’s going to be tough for the tourists to save this match and the series. The meagre scores so far have pushed the game on at a brisk pace and although Pakistan have got some dogged and determined players, unless they take a clutch of wickets very early on Monday morning Sri Lanka will coast to victory.

Credit must go to Mathews for the manner in which he played. The captain came in with his side on the ropes, but his watchful batting helped settle any lingering nerves, pushing Sri Lanka into a hugely commanding position. The next challenge facing the skipper is determining the target to set Pakistan, as his team look to wrap up the series.