GALLE: Dhananjaya de Silva hit a century before Sri Lanka pronounced their second innings on 360-8 to hand Pakistan a gigantic triumph target of 508 in the second Test on Wednesday.
Vice-captain De Silva scored 109 and added 82 for the eighth wicket with Ramesh Mendes, who was not out on 45, after the hosts continued day four on 176-5 in Galle.
De Silva was run out at the non-striker’s end and skipper Dimuth Karunaratne called back his batsmen in the second session of the game.
The West Indies hold the record for the most successful Test chase of 418 in front of Australia in 2003 at Antigua.
De Silva put on a vital stand of 126 with overnight accomplice Karunaratne, a left-handed batsman who combat back torment amid his 61-run innings.
De Silva, who opened the day on 27, reached his ninth Test century with a cracking boundary off Mohammad Nawaz and raised his bat in the dressing room to applause.
Karunaratne fell in the first session when he survived two close calls, which Pakistan failed to check off Nauman Ali’s left-arm spin.
Nauman eventually caught Karunaratne at short leg, where Abdullah Shafiq took a sharp reflex catch.
Karunaratne, who had back pain and did not field in Pakistan’s innings, was assisted by physios during his two hours and 45 minutes at the crease as he reached 6,000 Test runs.
Sri Lanka were 117-5 as they tried to bounce back from their opening defeat in the two-match series.
In reply to the hosts’ first innings of 378 runs, Pakistan trailed Sri Lanka by 147 runs after being bowled out for 231 runs.
Pakistan’s highest chase came in 2015, when they set a target of 377 in Pallekele. The tourists chased down Galle’s record of 342 in the series opener.
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