Wasim Akram takes centrestage

COLOMBO, JUNE 16. Former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram displayed his all-round skills when he hit a defiant 78 to take his team within seven runs of Sri Lanka's 273 and then came back to claim his 400th Test wicket. Sri Lanka playing in its Centenary Test finished the day at 53 for two wickets, an overall lead of 60 runs.

Akram dismissed Sri Lanka's Russel Arnold for one to end the third day of the first cricket Test here at the Sinhalese Sports Club grounds on a spirited note.

Akram, who already has more than 400 wickets in one- day Internationals, raised his arms in joy, looked up at the skies, hugged his team-mates and went back into the pavilion for a much- needed rest after completing the significant over.

Akram is the fourth bowler in test history to join the elite 400- wicket club which has only three other members. Courtney Walsh of West Indies with 454 wickets from 118 Tests, Kapil Dev of India with 434 wickets in 131 Tests and Sir Richard Hadlee of New Zealand for his 431 wickets in 86 Tests are the other three.

Akram and last man Arshad Khan frustrated the Sri Lankan bowling for the entire afternoon session adding a record 90 for the tenth wicket. Using his experience of 96 Tests, the 34-year-old veteran cricketer lifted Pakistan from a hopeless 176 for nine to 266 all out in reply to Sri Lanka's first innings of 273.

Akram came in to bat at the fall of the sixth wicket with the score at 160 and blended caution with aggression to hit two sixes, one of which was a towering one off Chaminda Vaas into the press box.

He also hit six fours in his innings of 78 which took him 245 minutes and 204 balls. He was lucky on occasions when several mishits fell short of advancing fielders.

Akram shielded last man Arshad Khan who offered excellent support making a career best 9 which was vital in not the number of runs he made but in the time he consumed at the wicket - 167 minutes. The pair erased the previous tenth wicket record set by Moin Khan and Aamir Nazir who put on 65 at Sialkot in 1995-96.

Off-spinner Muttiah Muralitharan who ran through the Pakistan top order failed to break through the partnership and it was left to debutant fast bowler Dilhara Fernando to break the stand when he bowled Akram through the gate, shortly after tea.

Muralitharan ended with figures of five for 115, the 19th occasion he had taken five wickets or more in an innings.

- AFP

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