OTD | Sri Lanka’s first Test in the Middle East ended in a draw in 2011

Discover how Sri Lanka’s first Test in the Middle East that ended in a draw. The year 2011 had some historic moments which featured Sri Lanka and one of them was their first Test that took place in the UAE and the Island nation was up against Pakistan at Abu Dhabi. This was one of the best Test matches which eventually ended up being a draw in the end with both teams putting up a great performance.

The UAE might not be one of the nations with one of the top cricket teams in the setup but has gone on to be an iconic venue where some of the bigger tournaments have been played at this venue. There have been some iconic matches that have been played in the Middle east which we can never forget as they have hosted the T20 World Cup and the IPL and has been a second home to the Pakistan team.

The great battle at Abu Dhabi

It was this auspicious day of 22nd October 2011 where this Test match ended and there were some iconic moments during this game. The match did not really start in the Lankans favour who got bundled out for just 197 and were unable to counter the seam bowling of Junaid Khan. The struggle did not just end there as the Pakistan batters also created havoc with a massive score of 511 on the board with a magnificent 236 from Taufeeq Umar and brilliant half centuries from Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali.

It all seemed like it was Pakistan’s game, but Kumar Sangakkar and Prasanna Jayawardene had other plans as they put up a brilliant partnership to save the game. Sangakkara scored a brilliant double hundred and Jayawardene also scored a 100 to make sure Sri Lanka got to 483. The match might have ended in a draw but it was still good to see a great battle between these South Asian rivals and it should be celebrated by everyone.

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