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'They truly believe in ek saal mei ek jeet' - Fans react as Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by 4 wickets to claim their first Test victory in 365 days 

Pakistan defeated Sri Lanka in the first Test in Galle by four wickets, claiming their first Test victory in 365 days.

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Akshay
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Pakistan vs Sri Lanka

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka (Source: Twitter)

Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Pakistan vs Sri Lanka (Source: Twitter)

Pakistan got their 2023-2025 World Test Championship (WTC) campaign off to a strong start by beating Sri Lanka by four wickets in the first Test at the Galle International Stadium on Thursday, July 20. The Men in Green also ended their year-long Test-win drought taking a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series.

Pakistan earned their 146th Test win on July 20th 2022, and the 147th comes exactly one year later. Sri Lanka would be disappointed with their start to the third cycle of the WTC, but they made the visitors sweat hard to gain a victory. Pakistan, needing 131 to win, got off to a poor start, with Sri Lanka taking three early wickets.

It was Prabath Jayasuriya who kept the Lankan hopes alive by removing opener Abdullah Shafique and Shan Masood on Day 4. Pakistan needed 83 runs and Sri Lanka required 7 wickets to win on the final day, and Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam got off to a good start. However, Jayasuriya once again provided a breakthrough by dismissing the Pakistan skipper, but Imam kept his cool and kept the scoreboard ticking.

Imam-ul-Haq leads a tight chase to a thrilling victory in Galle

The left-handed opener then tried to form a partnership with first-innings hero Saud Shakeel, but Ramesh Mendis pulled the right strings to dismiss the latter. Left-arm spinner Jayasuriya completed his four-wicket haul by sending back Sarfaraz Ahmed, but Agha Salman hit the very next ball to seal a memorable victory for his team. Imam, who notched up his eighth Test half-century in the process, was the hero of Pakistan in the final innings.

Earlier, after winning the toss and opting to bat first, Sri Lanka put up a total of 312 in the first innings on the back of Angelo Mathews' half-century and Dhananjaya de Silva's brilliant century. In reply, Pakistan had a disastrous start but a record partnership between Shakeel and Salman brought the visitors back into the game.

Shakeel struck his maiden Test double ton (208 off 361), while Salman contributed 83 runs off 113 deliveries. The hosts only managed to score 279 runs in the second innings, with de Silva and opener Nishan Madushka both hitting half-centuries.

Here's how fans reacted to Pakistan's victory: 

 

 

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