Herath's 400th wicket seals dramatic victory for Sri Lanka
Pakistan lost a Test match in Abu Dhabi for the first time, as 16 wickets fell on a nail-biting final day on which Rangana Herath became the first left-arm spinner to break the 400 barrier
28/09Result
1st Test, Sri Lanka tour of United Arab Emirates and Pakistan at Abu Dhabi, Sep 28-Oct 2 2017
-
![Sri Lanka]( "Sri Lanka")
419 & 138 -
![Pakistan]( "Pakistan")
422 & 114 (47.4 ov)
Player of the Match
28/09Result
1st Test, Sri Lanka tour of United Arab Emirates and Pakistan at Abu Dhabi, Sep 28-Oct 2 2017
-
![Sri Lanka]( "Sri Lanka")
419 & 138 -
![Pakistan]( "Pakistan")
422 & 114 (47.4 ov)
Player of the Match
Day 5
From 841 for 20 to 252 for 20
The fifth day in Abu Dhabi produced one of the rarest reversal of fortunes in Test history
Pakistan's final-day batting - a disaster foretold
History or no history, with or without #MisYou, Pakistan's final-day collapses have been a constant since August last year
'Want Herath throughout my career' - Chandimal
Sri Lanka captain "over the moon" after pulling off Abu Dhabi heist
Day 4
Pakistan spinners take four to set up exciting final day
For eleven sessions this Test went nowhere, the teams only three runs apart at the end of the first innings. But towards the end of day four, Pakistan's spinners claimed four wickets, and shocked it into life
Haris Sohail leaves his hell behind
Despite the talk that came with him being selected over the perpetually in-form Fawad Alam, and with the added pressure of Pakistan being in trouble, Haris Sohail astutely put together the "best day of his career"
Herath v Azhar Ali: Seven innings, seven dismissals
Also, 50 quick runs for the ninth wicket that could be match-defining
Day 3
Azhar Ali leads Pakistan's crawl towards parity
Fifties from Pakistan's top three ensured Pakistan edged - very slowly but surely - towards Sri Lanka's imposing first innings total of 419
Hello again, Sami Aslam
Dropped after scoring tough runs on tough tours, Sami Aslam is back, and in his comeback innings scored a half-century that highlighted both his strengths and his puzzling inability to convert his starts
Seven sessions of grind
Test matches in the UAE tend to unravel after three days of slow cricket, and the Pakistan-Sri Lanka encounter is no different
Day 2
Pakistan unscathed after Chandimal ton takes SL to 419
Honours were shared on the second day as Pakistan lost no wickets in the final session after the Sri Lanka captain's hundred helped the visitors post an imposing first-innings total
'We went in with our strength' - Azhar Mahmood
Despite Yasir Shah bowling a career-high 57 overs in Abu Dhabi's heat and humidity, Pakistan do not regret going into the first Test with only one specialist spinner
Nine hours of captain Chandimal
This wasn't a madcap dash like his 169-ball 162 in Galle two years ago. It was, instead, a quiet epic, the innings of an extravagantly gifted batsman adapting to leadership
Dinesh Chandimal: nine hundreds, six bail-outs
Sri Lanka's Dinesh Chandimal is building a reputation as a batsman who can make Test hundreds to rescue his team
Day 1
Karunaratne 93, Chandimal 60* carry SL to safety
Honours were shared on a low-scoring opening day as Sri Lanka recovered from 61 for 3 at lunch to finish the day on a strong note
Sri Lanka bat; Pakistan give Haris Sohail a debut
Dinesh Chandimal won the toss and chose to bat first on a pitch that had a bit of grass on it in Abu Dhabi. Pakistan gave middle-order batsman Haris Sohail a Test debut
Karunaratne shines as Sri Lanka savour unremarkable day
Amid tumult, Dimuth Karunaratne has been Sri Lanka's lynchpin; he is the team's leading Test scorer this year, and fifth in the world
Yasir's 150 in quick time
Yasir Shah became the quickest spinner in Test history to 150 wickets
Others
When Herath tormented Pakistan
Five previous instances when Rangana Herath spun Sri Lanka to victory against Pakistan
The truth about Rangaiyya
To the rest of the world, Rangana Herath is a lovable teddy bear of a slow left-armer. To Pakistan, he's a mean-ass, conniving devil who has taunted and harassed them for over a decade
Herath and his fourth-innings heists
Sri Lanka have defended scores of less than 250 only four times in their Test history. Every single time, Rangana Herath has been at the centre of it all
Herath: first left-arm spinner to 400 Test wickets
Statistical highlights of Rangana Herath's 400-wicket Test career
Sarfraz's Pakistan look to build on Misbah's reign
Pakistan's new captain in all formats wants his team to "remember the good things" his predecessors did, and apply them to his "very young side"
The quiet signs of change in Pakistan's bowling strategy
Under Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan rarely wavered in fielding a spin-heavy attack in the UAE. The Test series against Sri Lanka could see a shift in that strategy, leaning towards a greater use of pace
Pakistan's transition an advantage for SL bowling - Chandimal
Pakistan will begin working out their batting order after the retirements of Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan, and Dinesh Chandimal believes a settled Sri Lanka bowling attack can exploit this
Pakistan, Sri Lanka resume bout without heavyweights
Both teams have played 14 Tests against each other this decade, but how will they respond to the unfamiliar situation of not having familiar faces?