Pakistan batter Saud Shakeel put on a show with the bat on Day 3 of the first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle International Stadium.

In reply to Sri Lanka’s first innings total of 312, the visitors were 221/5 at the close of play on Day 2 with Shakeel and Salman Agha unbeaten in the middle on 69 and 61 respectively.

The duo extended their partnership to 177-run on the third day before Salman got out for 83. However, Shakeel held the one end firmly and went on to complete his second Test century in the first session.

After reaching the three-figure mark, Saud Shakeel had to bat along with the tail-enders and the southpaw did an exceptional job. He added 52 runs for the seventh wicket with Nauman Ali and forged a 94-run stand for the ninth wicket with Naseem Shah.

When Naseem got out after scoring 6 off 78 balls, it seemed that Shakeel may not be able to hit the double ton as Sri Lanka needed only one wicket to wrap up Pakistan’s innings.

However, Saud Shakeel was well supported by No. 11 batter Abrar Ahmed as he notched up his maiden double hundred in Test cricket with a boundary off Dhananjaya de Silva. In the end, Abrar was dismissed for 10 while Shakeel stayed unbeaten on 208 off 361 balls (19 fours), propelling the tourists to 461/10 in the first innings.

In their second innings, the hosts reached 14/0 at stumps on Day 3, trailing Pakistan by 135 runs.

For his stunning exploits with the bat, Saud Shakeel received rich praise from the Pakistan cricket fraternity on Twitter.

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