RANGANA Herath claimed his 400th Test wicket as Sri Lanka secured a dramatic 21-run win over Pakistan in Abu Dhabi to answer their critics in style.
The veteran bowler stole the headlines on an action-packed final day of the first Test, bringing up his landmark scalp with the match-clinching lbw dismissal of Mohammad Abbas.
It was the 16th wicket to fall yesterday as Pakistan were all out for 114, after Sri Lanka – whitewashed in all formats on their tour of India – posted 138.
Herath ended with figures of 6-43 to give his side the lead in the two-match series, becoming only the second Sri Lankan to take 400 wickets in the longest format – half the total compiled by legendary compatriot Muttiah Muralitharan.
The 39-year-old’s man-of-the-match display came on a pitch that deteriorated badly on the fifth day, when runs were hard to come by and no batsman was able to stamp his authority.
It all meant that a contest which had failed to provide much in the way of entertainment for four days concluded in memorable fashion.
Sri Lanka were left to defend 136 after lunch, with Niroshan Dickwella’s 40 not out representing their only meaningful resistance with the bat.
Yasir Shah helped himself to a five-for to set up what looked to be a very achievable chase for Pakistan.
But the warning signs were there from very early in their second innings, with Herath dismissing Sami Aslam for two, as the left-arm spinner began to weave his magic.
Pakistan were rarely able to build momentum and on 36-5 they were well on their way to blowing it.
A brief rally saw Sarfraz Ahmed (19) and Haris Sohail (34) put on 42, but Herath refused to stay quiet for long and he ultimately broke up the partnership when Sarfraz came down the pitch and missed a dipping delivery, allowing Dickwella to stump him.
That broke Pakistan’s spirit and the tail was cleaned up in short order, although only after Kusal Mendis had prematurely celebrated the win when his catch came off a Dilruwan Perera no-ball.
Herath’s place in the history books was the final action of the match, sparking wild celebrations from a Sri Lanka side who exorcised some of the demons of their India misery.
The second meeting starts on Friday in Dubai. (Omnisport)

SRI LANKA 1st innings 419 (D. Chandimal 155 n.o., D. Karunaratne 93, N. Dickwella 83)
PAKISTAN 1st innings 422 (A. Ali 85, H. Sohail 76, S. Masood 59, S. Aslam 51; R. Herath 5-93)
SRI LANKA 2nd innings (overnight 69-4)
Dimuth Karunaratne c Masood b Shah 10
Kaushal Silva lbw b Sohail 25
Lahiru Thirimanne c S. Ahmed b Shafiq 7
Kusal Mendis lbw b Abbas 18
Dinesh Chandimal c Shafiq b Shah 7
Suranga Lakmal c B. Azam b Abbas 13
Niroshan Dickwella not out 40
Dilruwan Perera lbw b Shah 6
Rangana Herath c Masood b Shah 0
Lakshan Sandakan c Amir b Shah 8
Nuwan Pradeep b H. Ali 0
Extras: (lb-3, nb-1) 4
Total: (all out, 66.5 overs) 138
Fall of wickets: 1-20, 2-33, 3-51, 4-65, 5-73, 6-86, 7-101, 8-101, 9-135.
Bowling: Mohammad Amir 12-4-27-0, Mohammad Abbas 12-3-22-2 (nb-1), Yasir Shah 27-5-51-5, Hasan Ali 7.1-0-21-1, Asad Shafiq 3.4-0-7–1, Haris Sohail 5-2-7-1.
PAKISTAN 2nd innings (Target: 136 runs)
Shan Masood c K. Silva b D. Perera 7
Sami Aslam c Karunaratne b Herath 2
Azhar Ali c Dickwella b Lakmal 0
Asad Shafiq c Karunaratne b Herath 20
Babar Azam c Dickwella b D. Perera 3
Haris Sohail lbw b D. Perera 34
Sarfraz Ahmed stp. Dickwella b Herath 19
Hasan Ali b Herath 8
Mohammad Amir b Herath 9
Yasir Shah not out 6
Mohammad Abbas lbw b Herath 0
Extras: (b-1, lb-4, nb-1) 6
Total: (all out, 47.4 overs) 114
Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-7. 3-16, 4-32, 5-36, 6-78, 7-98, 8-100, 9-111.
Bowling: Suranga Lakmal 5-1-12-1, Rangana Herath 21.4-4-43-6, Dilruwan Perera 18-4-46- 3 (nb-1), Nuwan Pradeep 2-1-4-0, Lakshan Sandakan 1-0-4-0.

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