Sri Lanka-Pakistan 50th Test since 1982 inaugural meeting -

The Sri Lanka versus Pakistan second cricket Test which starts at P. Saravanamuttu Stadium today will be the 50th Test between the two countries. Of the 49 Tests played so far, Pakistan takes the lead with 18 wins to Sri Lanka’s 13 with the balance 18 drawn.

The history of Pakistan-Sri Lanka Tests goes back to 1982, the year in which Sri Lanka played its inaugural Test against England at Saravanamuttu Stadium. The first team to offer Sri Lanka a meeting in Tests after playing the customary inaugural Test against England was Pakistan.

Sri Lanka gained the full membership of the ICC way back in 1981, thanks to the untiring efforts of the then Sri Lanka cricket chief the late Minister Gamini Dissanayake and the father of the present Sports Minister Navin Dissanayake. On the very next year, Sri Lanka got the opportunity of playing their first ever Test against England.

Incidentally, it was the very same venue which hosts the second Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan that hosted the country’s inaugural Test in February 1982 when Keith Fletcher’s England team toured here. The Lankan team, led by Bandula Warnapura lost to England by seven wickets, despite fluent half centuries on debut by Ranjan Madugalle (65) and Arjuna Ranatunga (54). Roy Dias, who was out for a “duck” in the first innings, made a fighting 77 off – 128 balls when Sri Lanka team was shot out for 175 in the second innings.

Three Sri Lankan batsmen have scored half centuries in their country’s inaugural Test against Pakistan played in Karachi, Sidath Wettimuny (71), Roy Dias (53) and Duleep Mendis (54). Sri Lanka were shot out for 149 runs in the second innings, giving Pakistan an easy 204-run victory in the first ever Test between the two teams played in March, 1982. Pakistan’s Haroon Rashid had the honour of becoming the first centurion in the Paskistan-Sri Lanka Test history, scoring a majestic 153 in 323 minutes.

Sri Lanka’s incumbent SLC Interim Committee chief Sidath Wettimuy became the first Lankan to score a Test century against Pakistan in the drawn second Test of that three-match series played in Faisalabad. After making a top score of 71 for his country in the first Test in Karachi, the stylish opener made a marathon knock of 157 off 330 balls with21 fours in 372 minutes.

Thanks to Sidath’s brilliant knock, Sri Lanka to make a commanding 454 all out, only in its third match in Test history. Roy Dias (98) and Ranjan Madugalle (91 n.o) too narrowly missed their centuries in the same Test.

Although Pakistan won the first Test series against Sri Lanka in 1982 two-nil (one drawn), it took 13 years for Sri Lanka to register a Test series win over Pakistan. They achieved this feat when Sri Lanka, under Arjuna Ranatunga, toured Pakistan in September 1995.

Ranatunga’s brigade not only won the Test series but achieved that feat with a magnificent fight back after making a shock start in the three-Test series. Sri Lanka lost the first Test against Pakistan by an innings and 40 runs in Peshawar but came back strongly to win the second Test in Faisalabad by 42 runs and the third Test in Sialkot by 144 runs. This remains Sri Lanka’s greatest fight back ever in a Test series on foreign soil. Sri Lanka came back strongly to register back to back victories in the last Test series between the two teams here in August last year, beating Pakistan by seven wickets in the first Test in Galle and by 105 runs in the second Test at SSC grounds to pocket the series two-nil.

Pakistan has not won a Test series over Sri Lanka since November 2011 and they would make every effort to break that hoodoo by capitalizing on the ten-wicket win they registered in the first Test played in Galle last week. Their last series win over Sri Lanka was in the UAE in 2011, a neutral venue duo to terrorist threats in Pakistan, but they will get a good chance to win a Test series in Sri Lanka this time around.

Although the Galle International Stadium has been a happy-hunting venue for Sri Lanka the lady luck did not smile with the hosts this time around. Sri Lanka surrendered meekly to the tourists in Galle last week, giving Pakistan an early advantage in the Test series.

However, Galle remains as Sri Lanka’s luckiest Test venue, winning 13 of the 25 played there with only six defeats and six drawn games. Pakistan had lost three of the five Tests they have played against Sri Lanka in Galle.

Out of all Test nations, Sri Lanka has registered the most number of victories against Bangladesh (14) while their second most number of wins has come against Pakistan (13). However, Pakistan remains the country that has inflicted Sri Lanka its most number of Test defeats (18), ahead of Australia which has beaten Sri Lanka in 17 Test