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On July 27, Thursday, Pakistan demolished Sri Lanka in the final Test of the two-match series with a margin of an inning and 222 runs at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground. With this massive victory, the Men in Green have not only won the series 2-0 but also consolidated their first position in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle, with 24 points to their tally.
As per the Points Percentage System (PTC), Pakistan are currently at 100 per cent points, ahead of India, who are in second place with 66.67 per cent points. The Men in Blue have won the two-match Test series in the Caribbean against West Indies by 1-0, securing 16 valuable points on offer in the WTC.
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Australia are currently in third place 54.17 per cent points, after winning two of the first four Ashes Tests against the old enemy, drawing and losing one each too. England are behind them in fourth place, with 29.17 per cent points.
Notably, the second Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at the SSC Ground was a one-sided contest from start to finish. After winning the toss, the captain of the hosts Dimuth Karunaratne won the toss and decided to bat first, but the batter didn’t perform as per expectation. They were bundled out for 166 in 48.3 overs, within the first two sessions of the match as Abrar Ahmed picked up a four-fer.
In their first innings, Pakistan's batting lineup was nothing short of extraordinary, putting up a big total of 576/5 Dec. Abdullah Shafique got his maiden Test double century, while Agha Salman scored an enterprising 132 not out off just 154 deliveries, which included 15 fours and one six.
With a daunting task of overhauling 410 run first innings deficit, Sri Lanka came out to bat on day 4 at the SSC Ground. They couldn’t do much better with the bat, the second time asked, getting bowled out for 188 in 67.4 overs. Noman Ali was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, scalping the first seven wickets against the hosts before Naseem Ali cleaned up the tail with ease.
Check the updated standings of the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle, after the second Test match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan: