Sri Lanka duo ensure Colombo Test ends in a draw

Pakistan had set their opponents the task of reaching the target in the final session, declaring their second innings on 100-2, but Sri Lanka were on 86-2 when the captains shook hands.

There had been faint hopes the tourists might triumph as Sri Lanka needed 74 more runs to avoid the follow-on with just five wickets in hand, but Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews steered Sri Lanka to 391 all out.

Despite Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan having made centuries the previous day, Pakistan took four quick wickets to raise hopes of making the hosts, still 273 runs adrift overnight, follow on.

But Sangakkara and Mathews put on 92 for the sixth wicket before the latter feathered Junaid Khan behind to depart for 47, which was the start of a sequence that saw Sri Lanka lose their last five wickets for 21 runs.

Sangakkara’s wicket came in amongst the collapse as he fell for 192 after coming down the pitch and flicking Rehman to Taufeeq Umar at square leg.

With a first-innings lead of 160, Pakistan came firing out of the traps in their second innings –Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq put on a fifty partnership for Pakistan’s opening wicket before the latter lobbed to Dilshan at square leg off Suraj Randiv.

He then accounted for Abdur Rehman, who had been sent up the order to hammer a quick 36 off 22 balls.

The tourists went for tea on 99-2 and curiously added just one more run before opting to declare, with opener Taufeeq unbeaten on 42.

Sri Lanka’s chase began at a steady pace with openers Dilshan and Tharanga Paranavitana rattling off 48 runs in 11 overs.

But Dilshan was trapped lbw by Saeed Ajmal for 28, and Paranavitana (32) fell the same way to Rehman five overs later to slow the charge.

Sangakkara added an unbeaten 24 before the expected draw was confirmed.

Sachin Tendulkar has been rested for India’s limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka later this month, but Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan are back.

Tendulkar, 39, is taking one of his frequent breaks from the shorter forms of the game as he bids to extend his career.

But the return of attacking opener Sehwag and pace bowler Zaheer, who both missed the Asia Cup earlier this year due to injury problems, means the tourists are not short of star power for the trip, which includes five one-day internationals and one Twenty20.

Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni once again has Virat Kohli as his deputy, but there is no place in the 15-man squad for Ravindra Jadeja, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh or either of the Pathan brothers, Yusuf and Irfan.