<p>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The rain-hit second Test in Colombo was drawn, while the entire second day’s play in Pallekele had been washed out.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.</p>.<p> <br />Score Board<br /><br />PAKISTAN (I Innings): 226<br />SRI LANKA (I Innings): 337<br />PAKISTAN (II Innings, O/n: 299/8):<br />Hafeez c P’vitana b Fernando 52<br />Umar lbw Kulasekara 4<br />Ali c P Jayawardene b Fernando 136<br />Younis c Paranavitana b Herath 19<br />Misbah c M Jayawardene b Herath 5<br />Shafiq (not out) 100<br />Sami lbw Fernando 3<br />Gul lbw Herath 0<br />Ajmal lbw Herath 5<br />Akmal (not out) 35<br />Extras (B-6, LB-8, W-7) 21<br />Total (8 wkts decl, 128.4 overs) 380<br />Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-110, 3-158, 4-176, 5-276, 6-280, 7-281, 8-299. <br />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.<br /><br />SRI LANKA (II Innings):<br />Paranavitana c Younis b Junaid 22<br />Chandimal c Shafiq b Ajmal 65<br />Sangakkara (not out) 74<br />Jayawardene c Hafeez b Ajmal 11<br />Samaraweera b Ajmal 10<br />Mathews (not out) 1<br />Extras (B-2, LB-10) 12<br />Total (for 4 wkts, 62 overs) 195<br />Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-132, 3-150, 4-178.<br />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.</p>
<p>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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />The rain-hit second Test in Colombo was drawn, while the entire second day’s play in Pallekele had been washed out.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.</p>.<p> <br />Score Board<br /><br />PAKISTAN (I Innings): 226<br />SRI LANKA (I Innings): 337<br />PAKISTAN (II Innings, O/n: 299/8):<br />Hafeez c P’vitana b Fernando 52<br />Umar lbw Kulasekara 4<br />Ali c P Jayawardene b Fernando 136<br />Younis c Paranavitana b Herath 19<br />Misbah c M Jayawardene b Herath 5<br />Shafiq (not out) 100<br />Sami lbw Fernando 3<br />Gul lbw Herath 0<br />Ajmal lbw Herath 5<br />Akmal (not out) 35<br />Extras (B-6, LB-8, W-7) 21<br />Total (8 wkts decl, 128.4 overs) 380<br />Fall of wickets: 1-16, 2-110, 3-158, 4-176, 5-276, 6-280, 7-281, 8-299. <br />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.<br /><br />SRI LANKA (II Innings):<br />Paranavitana c Younis b Junaid 22<br />Chandimal c Shafiq b Ajmal 65<br />Sangakkara (not out) 74<br />Jayawardene c Hafeez b Ajmal 11<br />Samaraweera b Ajmal 10<br />Mathews (not out) 1<br />Extras (B-2, LB-10) 12<br />Total (for 4 wkts, 62 overs) 195<br />Fall of wickets: 1-44, 2-132, 3-150, 4-178.<br />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.</p>