Defiant Azam ton leads Pakistan fight back in Sri Lanka Test

GALLE, Sri Lanka: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam made a defiant 119 to thwart a Sri Lankan spin attack led by Prabath Jayasuriya on day two of an evenly poised first Test on Sunday.

Azam single-handedly took the tourists to just four runs short of Sri Lanka’s 222 as he put on a 70-run tenth-wicket stand with Naseem Shah, who made five not out from 52 balls, in Galle.

Sri Lanka were 36 for one at stumps after skipper Dimuth Karunaratne fell to left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz, for 16.