Galle, Sri Lanka: Dhananjaya de Silva struck a century as Sri Lanka handed Pakistan a mammoth victory target of 508 before bad weather hit the hosts’ chances of wickets in the second Test on Wednesday.
Pakistan were 89-1 when bad light stopped play early and stumps were called on day four in Galle with left-handed opener Imam-ul-Haq on 46 and skipper Babar Azam on 26.
The arrival of rain ended any chances of play, adding to Pakistan’s hopes of a draw to clinch the two-match series, which they lead 1-0.
But the tourists will need to make an unprecedented chase — with another 419 runs needed to win — if they are to make it 2-0.
The West Indies hold the record for the highest successful Test chase with 418 against Australia in 2003 at Antigua.
Sri Lanka, who declared their second innings on 360-8 in the second session after resuming on 176-5, need nine wickets on the final day to end the series level.
Spinner Prabath Jayasuriya sent back first-match hero Abdullah Shafique for 16 with debutant Dunith Wellalage taking a good running catch at mid-off before tea.
Imam and Azam played with positive intent and took their chances against the spinners to get quick runs in the weather-hit final session of play.
The pair hit six boundaries between them and Azam also smashed Jayasuriya’s left-arm spin for a six over the mid-wicket region.
Earlier, De Silva made 109 before being run out at the non-striker’s end and Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne called his batsmen back to the pavilion.
De Silva put on a key stand of 126 with overnight partner Karunaratne, a left-handed batsman who battled back pain during his knock of 61.
Beginning the day on 27, De Silva reached his ninth Test hundred with a cracking boundary off Mohammad Nawaz and raised his bat to the applauding dressing room.
Karunaratne fell in the first session after he escaped two close calls, which were unsuccessfully reviewed by Pakistan, off Nauman Ali’s left-arm spin.
Nauman finally got Karunaratne, caught at short leg, where Shafique took a sharp reflex catch.
Karunaratne, who had back spasms and did not field in the Pakistan innings, got help from the physio during his two hours and 45 minutes at the crease as he went past 6,000 Test runs.
He did not take to the field in the final innings with De Silva again standing in as skipper.
Pakistan fell behind Sri Lanka by 147 runs after being bowled out for 231 in response to the hosts’ first-innings total of 378.
Pakistan’s highest chase in Sri Lanka came in 2015, when they made a target of 377 in Pallekele.
The tourists chased down a Galle record of 342 in the opener of the current series.
De Silva ton sets Pakistan monumental chase in second Test
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De Silva ton sets Pakistan monumental chase in second Test
- Pakistan were 89-1 when bad light stopped play early on day four
- Sri Lanka handed Pakistan a mammoth victory target of 508
Pakistan’s Mahnoor Omer named among TIME’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026
- Omer moved a Pakistani court against the so-called ‘period tax’ in Sept. 2025 which has since sparked a national debate
- Taxes on sanitary pads in Pakistan can add up to 40 percent to retail price, UNICEF says only around 12 percent women use such products
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani women’s rights activist Mahnoor Omer, who fought against taxes on menstrual products, has been named among the TIME magazine’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026.
Omer’s efforts have been recognized alongside 16 activists, artists, athletes and businesswomen in the TIME’s Women of the Year 2026 list, including Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Chloe Zhao.
Dissatisfied with the efforts to educate Pakistani girls about sexual violence, Omer founded the Noor Foundation at the age of 14 and held her own workshops with village girls about everything from climate change to menstruation, according to the TIME magazine.
Two years later, a conversation with a domestic worker about the price of pads made her realize that not everyone could afford these essentials. She moved a court against the so-called “period tax” in Sept. 2025 and the case has sparked a national debate on the subject, considered a taboo by many in Pakistan, since its first hearing late last year.
“A decade and one law degree after her interest in activism was sparked, Omer, now 25, is putting her passion and expertise to work in the name of gender equity,” TIME wrote about Omer on its website.
Taxes imposed on sanitary products in Pakistan can add up to 40 percent to the retail price. UNICEF estimates just 12 percent of women in the country use commercially produced pads or tampons. The alternative, using cloth, risks health impacts including rashes and infections, and can make it impossible for girls to attend school while menstruating.
Omer’s suit, which awaits the government response, has sparked a national discussion. She says she spoke about menstruation to her father and male cousins, who thanked her for standing up for their daughters.
The 25-year-old, who is currently enrolled in a master’s degree in gender, peace, and security at the London School of Economics, sees this case as just the first of many.
“I’m not free until every woman is free,” she was quoted as saying by TIME. “I want to leave no stones unturned in terms of what I can do with the next few decades, as a lawyer for the women in my country and gender minorities in general.”
