The Best of Tests: Sri Lanka v Pakistan: Jayawardene-Samaraweera's 437-run stand and a Younis triple

Test cricket mirrors life. The ebbs and flows of the format have given birth to some of the most breath-taking cricketing epics. A Cricket World Series, The Best of Tests, highlights the finest of these spectacles.

Match Summary

Sri Lanka 644/7d & 144/5

Pakistan 765/6d

Result - Match drawn

Player of the Match - Younis Khan

1553 runs were scored over five days of cricket within just three innings and this is when neither side's innings reached it completion.

It was a run fest between Sri Lanka and Pakistan on the the latter's tour of the cricket-crazy country in 2009. The venue was Karachi and the pitch was as flat as you can imagine.

Batting first, Sri Lanka's debutant opener Tharanga Paranavitana was dismissed in the first over but there were not many wickets that would come Pakistan's way after that. Just three wickets fell on the first day with Sri Lanka posting 406 on the board.

Samaraweera joined Mahela Jayawardene at crease after Kumar Sangakkara was dismissed with the score at 177/3. With the ball having got soft, the two were in no sort of trouble at the crease and kept punishing the Pakistan bowlers.

The next time a wicket fell, the score read 614 for 4 and the match was already heading towards a draw. Jayawardene was dismissed for 240 off 424 deliveries while Samaraweera took 318 balls for his 231.

If you thought Pakistan would buckle under pressure, that was not the case with Younis Khan scoring a triple century off 568 balls to go along with an unbeaten 158 from Kamran Akmal. With the triple ton, Younis became the number one ranked ICC batsman in Tests.

Pakistan declared at 765/6 which remains the fifth-highest score in Test history. Just 18 wickets fell in the match which is a record for the least number of wickets to fall in a Test match in Pakistan. No wonder, the game ended in a banal draw.

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