Sri Lanka won their first Test series in three years after the final Test against Pakistan ended in a thrilling draw in Pallekele on Thursday.
The hosts made a brave bid to chase down a target of 270, reaching 132/2 by tea on the fifth day, before they were pegged back by a three-wicket burst from off-spinner Saeed Ajmal.
Dinesh Chandimal scored 65 and the prolific Kumar Sangakkara returned unbeaten on 74 as Sri Lanka made 195/4 before the game was called off with nine overs remaining at the Pallekele International Stadium.
The 1-0 scoreline — following a 209-run victory in the first Test in Galle — was Sri Lanka’s first Test series win since beating New Zealand 2-0 at home in 2009.
The rain-hit second Test in Colombo was drawn, while the entire second day’s play in Pallekele had been washed out.
Earlier, Asad Shafiq remained unbeaten on 100 as Pakistan declared their second innings at 380/8 half-an-hour before lunch to attempt a series-levelling win.
But the tourists were thwarted by a pitch that eased out under the hot sun and a determined effort by the home team’s batsmen in front of some 1,000 spectators.
Score Board
PAKISTAN (I Innings): 226
SRI LANKA (I Innings): 337
PAKISTAN (II Innings, O/n: 299/8):
Hafeez c P’vitana b Fernando 52
Umar lbw Kulasekara 4
Ali c P Jayawardene b Fernando 136
Younis c Paranavitana b Herath 19
Misbah c M Jayawardene b Herath 5
Shafiq (not out) 100
Sami lbw Fernando 3
Gul lbw Herath 0
Ajmal lbw Herath 5
Akmal (not out) 35
Extras (B-6, LB-8, W-7) 21
Total (8 wkts decl, 128.4 overs) 380
Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-110, 3-158, 4-176, 5-276, 6-280, 7-281, 8-299.
Bowling: Kulasekara 28-9-65-1, Perera 25-2-88-0, Herath 39.4-4-99-4, Fernando 23-1-74-3, Mathews 12-0-38-0, Samaraweera 1-0-2-0.
SRI LANKA (II Innings):
Paranavitana c Younis b Junaid 22
Chandimal c Shafiq b Ajmal 65
Sangakkara (not out) 74
Jayawardene c Hafeez b Ajmal 11
Samaraweera b Ajmal 10
Mathews (not out) 1
Extras (B-2, LB-10) 12
Total (for 4 wkts, 62 overs) 195
Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-132, 3-150, 4-178.
Bowling: Umar Gul 9-2-43-0, Junaid Khan 10-0-45-1, Mohd Hafeez 9-1-22-0, Saeed Ajmal 26-8-50-3, Mohammad Sami 8-0-23-0.