The Day 4 of the first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka got underway on Wednesday, July 19 at Galle International Stadium, Galle. Sri Lanka resumed their innings on 14/0 with openers Nishan Madushka and Dimuth Karunaratne at the crease. The day didn’t start off well for the hosts as they lost three wickets in the first session of captain Karunratne (20), Kusal Mendis (18) and Angelo Mathews (7) to finish on 94/3.
The second session brought more misery with well-set Nishan Madushka (52) edging one straight to the wicketkeeper. Following his dismissal, Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva stitched a 60-run stand for the fifth wicket. However, the quick wickets of Chandimal and Sadeera Samarawickrama (11) once again halted Sri Lanka’s progress.
While all this was happening at one end, De Silva’s gritty knock continued at the other and he kept the innings moving forward. He found good support from Ramesh Mendis (42) with the duo adding 76 runs for the seventh wicket. Just when Sri Lankan fans began hoping again, Shaheen Afridi and Abrar Ahmed ran through the tail and bundled them out for 279 in the second innings setting Pakistan a target of 131 to win the Test.
Dhananjaya de Silva was the top scorer for his side with 82 while Abrar Ahmed (3/68) and Noman Ali (3/75) picked up three wickets each for Pakistan.
Despite having a small target to chase, things didn’t begin smoothly for Pakistan as opener Abdullah Shafique (8) got out against Prabath Jayasuriya. Shan Masood (7) also met the same fate leaving his side on 36/2.
The matters got worse when Noman Ali got dismissed due to terrible miscommunication and the hosts were left reeling at 38/3. They finished the day on 48/3 with captain Babar Azam (6) and Imam ul Haq (25) at the crease. They require another 83 runs to win the game on Day 5. Meanwhile, Twitter was abuzz with reactions on the fourth day’s play.
Here’s how fans reacted to Day 4’s play of the SL vs PAK Galle Test:
Pakistani will sleep peacefully thinking Babar will bat tomorrow as well ❤️#PAKvsSL #BabarAzam𓃵 pic.twitter.com/seg1E2Hray
— Ñöör Hâféèz Åbbäsî (@noor_babarian56) July 19, 2023
Don’t we have an option instead of Kusal Mendis ?#PAKvsSL
— Kavinda Uthsuka (@kavindauthuka9) July 19, 2023
wasim and dahani getting thrashed by emerging players after us loosing 3 early wickets in the test for no reason is so embarrassing #PAKvsSL #INDvPAK
— farwa (@batnballl) July 19, 2023
Besties please win this match🥹#PAKvsSL pic.twitter.com/3CNNOa3ihL
— Laibayyyyy🇵🇰 (@Bobbyfangirl56) July 19, 2023
#PAKvsSL Pakistan needs aggression at top, seriously missing likes of Saeed Anwer, Amir Sohail, Afridi type players, this rok ke khelo never works
— Saqib M 🇵🇰 (@saqibmusvi) July 19, 2023
Really bad feeling about this chase😰#PAKvsSL
— Umar Numan (@umar_numan) July 19, 2023
Rizwan hota to jump mar leta 🫤🫤#SLvPAK #BabarAzam𓃵 #BabarAzam pic.twitter.com/oIa0VAU6Ej
— Abdul Waheed (@Abdulwaheed8581) July 19, 2023
Brilliant Captaincy From Babar Azam ; brilliant fielding, Bowling and batting from Pakistan Team Best of Luck boys♥️. #BabarAzam #PAKvSL #SLvPAK #PAKvsSL pic.twitter.com/4riBLOtHin
— Teemi (@shoaib_jatt0) July 19, 2023
No performances from @imabd28 & @shani_official. They are failing continuously. Babar should give chance to another players instead of them. #PAKvsSL
— ABSPEAKS (@MeetAboodi) July 19, 2023