ABU DHABI — The first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka ended in a draw on the fifth and final day in Abu Dhabi Saturday after Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad hit half-centuries. Hafeez finished with 80 not out for his ninth Test half-century, his first in 11 innings, while Ahmed Shehzad notched his maiden fifty on his debut as Pakistan, set 302 runs in a possible of 67 overs, finished on 158-2. The draw left the three-Test series open, with the second Test starting in Dubai Wednesday. The third Test will be played in Sharjah from Jan. 16. The no-result is also a moral victory for the Sri Lankans who were in a danger of losing after conceding a big 179-run lead in the first innings and were 186-4 after the third day, leading by just seven runs with six wickets intact. Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews hit a career-best 157 not out to pull his team out of danger on the fourth day when it lost only one wicket in the full day's play for 234 runs. The target always looked beyond Pakistan's reach as its best winning chase in all Test cricket was 314 against Australia in Karachi in 1994. Pakistan lost opener Khurram Manzoor early, caught behind off paceman Suranga Lakmal after scoring eight, but Hafeez and Shehzad avoided any further loss and put on 94 in an unbroken second wicket stand. Hafeez reached his half-century with two fours in one Sachitra Senanayake over. He had been dropped from the Pakistan team for the two-Test series against South Africa, also in Abu Dhabi, in October, after scoring just 113 in 11 innings. Shehzad also hit spinner Rangana Herath for his seventh four to reach his maiden 50 before he was trapped leg-before by the same bowler soon after tea for 55. Hafeez hit 11 fours during his sedate knock. Younis Khan was the other unbeaten batsman with 13. “Pretty happy with the result and hope to continue like this in the series,” said Mathews, named Man-of-the-Match. “We were in a spot of bother after the third day but I am happy that we came good in batting and forced a draw.” Pakistan captain Misbahul Haq was disappointed at his side's batting collapse in the first innings. “It was a pretty even match. We dominated the first three days but they came back strongly,” said Misbah, who also scored a century in the match. “We need to improve our batting because the way we lost six wickets for 50-odd runs was not good and also our bowling when the wicket is not conducive.” Earlier, Sri Lanka declared its second innings on 480-5 after batting an hour and 30 minutes but its slow batting showed it had safety on its mind rather than forcing a lead in the three-Test series. It was the unfinished sixth wicket 156-run stand between Mathews and Prasanna Jayawardene (63 not out) that continued on the fifth day and ended all hopes of a Pakistani win. Pacemen Junaid Khan finished with 3-93, while Bilawal Bhatti took 2-146. Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, who took 18 wickets in Pakistan's 1-0 win over Sri Lanka in 2011, finished wicket-less in his 49 overs, conceding 115 runs — only the fifth time that he failed to get a wicket in an innings in his 31 Tests. Kulasekara setback Sri Lanka suffered a big blow when experienced fast bolwer Nuwan Kulasekara was ruled out of the series due to a hamstring injury, skipper Mathews said Saturday. The 31-year-old paceman did not play the first Test. “Kulasekara suffered a hamstring injury which was discovered recently and will be returning home,” said Mathews. There will be no replacement for Kulasekara as Sri Lanka has enough fast bowlers in the squad, said Mathews. — Agencies
Scorecard
Sri Lanka (1st innings) 204 Pakistan (1st innings) 383 Sri Lanka (2nd innings) Karunaratne b Junaid 24 Silva c Akmal b Junaid 81 Sangakkara c Younis b Bhatti 55 Jayawardene c Shafiq b Bhatti 00 Chandimal c Ali b Junaid 89 Mathews not out 157 Jayawardene not out 63 Extras: (b4, lb7) 11 Total: (for 5 dec; 168.3 overs) 480 Falls: 1-47 (Karunaratne), 2-146 (Sangakkara), 3-150 (Jayawardene), 4-186 (Silva), 5-324 (Chandimal). Bowling: Junaid 36-3-93-3, Ali 38.3-9-92-0, Bhatti 36-8-146-2, Ajmal 49-10-115-0, Hafeez 9-1-23-0. Pakistan (2nd innings) Manzoor c Prasanna b Lakmal 08 Shehzad lbw b Herath 55 Hafeez not out 80 Younis not out 13 Extras: (b1, nb1) 02 Total: (for 2; 52 overs) 158 Falls: 1-24 (Manzoor), 2-125 (Shehzad). Bowling: Lakmal 13-1-43-1, Eranga 11-0-38-0 (1nb), Herath 21-8-37-1, Mathews 2-0-9-0, Senanayake 5-0-30-0.
