Pakistan wrest back initiative with all-round show

Pakistan 90 and 178 for 1 (Fawad 102*) lead Sri Lanka 240 (Sangakkara 87, Gul 4-43) by 28 runsScorecard and ball-by-ball detailsHow they were out
Fawad Alam's tenacious yet fluent effort made him the 10th Pakistan batsman to score a century on debut, but the first to do so overseas © Associated Press
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Players/Officials: Fawad Alam Mohammad Aamer Saeed Ajmal Umar Gul
Matches: Sri Lanka v Pakistan at Colombo (PSS)
Series/Tournaments: Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka
Teams: Pakistan Sri Lanka
Fawad Alam, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal fashioned an extraordinary turnaround on the second day at the P Sara Oval, with Pakistan dominating as completely as they had been dominated on the opening day. Led by superb spells from Gul and an outstanding century on debut from Fawad, Pakistan recovered from a disastrous first innings, limited their deficit to 150, and, by the end of the day two, had wiped off the arrears and moved ahead, losing only one wicket in the process.

When the day began, Sri Lanka were so far ahead it seemed almost inevitable they would rectify their record of never having won a home series against Pakistan. However, so thoroughly did Pakistan control all three sessions that Sri Lanka will have uncomfortable thoughts about chasing a stiff fourth-innings target on a wearing pitch. So far Pakistan had set all the wrong records in this series, but they got it right here: Fawad's tenacious yet fluent effort made him the 10th Pakistan batsman to score a century on debut, but the first to do so overseas.

Thanks to that effort and the amazing bowling display, Pakistan can dream about chasing another record: only once have they won a Test after conceding a larger first-innings deficit - against New Zealand in Wellington in 2003, when they trailed by 170 but eventually won by seven wickets.

There were question marks being raised about Pakistan's commitment after there capitulation in the series so far, but as is their wont, they hit back just when their chances had been written off. The pitch remained a pretty good one for batting, though the bounce had diminished, but Pakistan relied on lethal spells of reverse swing, aided by steady spin and an inspirational bit of fielding, to launch an astonishing revival, and then continued it with an utterly disciplined and purposeful batting display.