PAK VS SL - 2nd Test, Sri Lanka tour of Pakistan Test Series, 2019

There might still be nobody in the stands here in Karachi - it's that early in the morning - but there's still something in the smell of home .. it's helped Pakistan win a Test match after nearly 13 months. Azhar Ali gets his trophy, he passes it on to Shaheen Afridi, who then refuses to give it away to Naseem Shah. Yea, that's how rare a series win has been for Pakistan of late. It's all we have for you then, and in the hope you enjoyed all that we scribbled over the last five days, I, Vineet Anantharaman, sign off on behalf of Varun Dixit, Sriram AS and our scorer, Mukesh Gowda. Until Bangladesh agree to come over, ta ta!!

Azhar Ali | Winning skipper: Definitely we needed this performance. A big thank you to the Sri Lankan team from the bottom of our hearts; they don't know how much happiness they have given us by playing here at home after so long. There are some special players here in this dressing room. The last year has been tough for us as a Test team and playing at home after a long time was emotional for us, but we wanted to start fresh on a positive note. And it has been satisfactory. There is so much talent in these youngsters, obviously experience will come with time. They are the best bowlers in Pakistan and we have to back them, Abbas came back strong and Shaheen kept asking for the ball to get his fifer. The platform was laid by the openers for us then. Centuries are very important, but Babar and Asad got important fifties in the first innings. And then Naseem was outstanding. You have to stay calm under pressure and that's the job of the team management. When you are under pressure, you need to stick to the basics. Runs were long due for me, I was practicing hard and glad that I got it now. Hopefully, I can continue with this. It is a big advantage to play at home, especially for the batsmen who can take this confidence into an overseas series. We know how to win Test matches in Dubai but we hadn't played a lot here. But now we know how to win in Pakistan as well. A big thank you to all the security agencies and all those involved in the conduct of this match.

Dimuth Karunaratne | Losing skipper: I thought we did really well in the first two days. But Azhar and his team came back strongly and put us under pressure. We lost our patience as well and in Test cricket we need to be patient. But they outplayed us. A lead of 80 was really good, but we bowled a lot of loose balls. We were under pressure and they were scoring around ten in an over and couldn't come back. They dominated after that. Oshada's hundred was under tough circumstances. He showed us how to bat here. Lahiru Kumara was really outstanding with the way he was bowling. All the others have to lift their game for the next series. Thanks a lot to all the Pakistani fans for supporting us, and a thank you to the PCB for the security they provided us.

Abid Ali | MoM | MoS: I would like to thank God for this. All my hard work at the domestic level has paid off. We won a home series in Pakistan after ten years and it is a very proud moment for us. All my family, my brothers were backing me and I can't thank them enough. I have a lot of confidence and self-belief in me. I try to reduce the mistakes at the skill level and work on my technique. There was pressure during my debut, the team management and the boys gave me a lot of confidence. We worked hard during practice and played with a positive mind. We all kept backing each other. We were only trying to get a good result. The best thing today is that cricket returns to Pakistan and we started off with a win.

Shan Masood: After Adelaide, we were pretty honest with ourselves and that reflected in the whole team. We talked that if we want to win Test matches, there has to be a contribution from the team and not individual performances. Emotions were high because we were playing at the home ground. We played well as a unit. The last day in Rawalpindi was satisfying with Abid Ali and Babar Azam getting hundreds. Initially, there was nervousness in both the Test matches but we came back really well. Abid Ali and I have batted a lot together. We have played for Islamabad and Pakistan A together. It's good to bat with someone who you know. Guys are eager to go back home before the Bangladesh tour because it's been a long time since we have been on the tour. 

Waqar Younis: When we played cricket here, it was a different ball game altogether. It's a emotional game and cricket coming back here after 10 years is a great feeling. The boys have done a great job. Very proud of them. We always had this feeling that it would finish quickly. It's good that we won and more than that the cricket has come back home. I still feel it's early days for him (Naseem Shah); it's very good  that he's picked up five wickets. He will go a long way. I want to thank a lot of people. We have got Musa sitting in the bench and glad that Abbas is back. All things rolling nicely. I said it before, Karachi is a place where we always had good success. We want to play more Test matches at home, the guys feel really good playing in front of the home crowd. This team is gelling well -- the batting has started to click and all is going well. Home is home, people came in numbers at Rawalpindi and it was heartening to see how they love their cricket. They have shown the world that it's a safe place to play. 

It's not that Sri Lanka had much of a chance today, but they'll be disappointed with just how easily they bundled out. The wicket had clearly turned flat, they'd seen all the Pakistani batsmen smash the ball around for fun, but apart from Oshada Fernando, nobody seemed to have the heart to dig in. It's a lost art. Anyway, what's not lost are some of the interviews are lined up for you, before the actual presentations get going ..

10:15 Local Time: 15 minutes | 16 balls -- and that's all it's taken Pakistan to get a first win on the WTC table, something that's put them at third spot all of a sudden. That's not important, what really matters now for these boys is a win in front of their own crowd after ages. Karachi was quite a fortress, and evidently, the ten-year hiatus hasn't made it any less of one. It's that fortress that allows them to come back from being skittled out for 191 in the first innings and from an 80-run deficit. It's also a fortress where they knew they could afford to bat first on a green surface, and then save all their centuries for the second innings - four of them. It's a fortress where two of their teenagers step up to pick maiden fifers. Nah, it's not a fortress, it's a home.

Naseem Shah to Fernando, out Lbw!! Bang straight, finally. Naseem Shah becomes the youngest fast bowler EVER in history to pick up a fifer in Tests. Fernando just can't lay bat on ball, it's a known fact, it's a demonstrated fact, and he does prove it all over again here -- freezing in front of his stumps and the bat's nowhere in the frame to keep it out. Flush on the ankle in front of middle. Yea, but why not waste some time with a review when you have one? And he sees him being plumb for himself on the giant screen. Fernando lbw b Naseem Shah 0(9)

Naseem Shah to Fernando, THATS OUT!! Lbw!!

Shahbaz Shakoor: Peace and cricket in Pakistan, message for all cricket playing nations to come and play in Pakistan. We love cricket. How well they are performing on their own pitches.

Naseem Shah to Fernando, no run, a yorker, but Shah stays off target. And Fernando will do his bit of moving past the line and try squeezing. No success

Naseem Shah to Fernando, no run, just outside off. Fernando has no feet, only hard hands on the flirt. Yep, will miss

Naseem Shah to Fernando, no run, the usual - back-away-poke. And miss

Naseem Shah to Fernando, no run, length, jagging back in, and Fernando after getting all squared up takes the blow on his thighs

Yasir Shah to Lahiru Kumara, no run, flat, quick, on middle, blocked out

Lahiru Kumara, left handed bat, comes to the crease

Yasir Shah to Oshada Fernando, out Caught by Shafiq!! Tame stuff. And it was always known that all Yasir needs is a wicket to get rolling. It was set up yesterday, and now riding high on all his confidence, he produces another sharp rise-up off the deck, without width. Fernando needs his strike back for the next over, tries to run it down to third man, and in the process gets a big fat outside edge only as far as slip. Oshada Fernando c Shafiq b Yasir Shah 102(180) [4s-13]

Yasir Shah to Oshada Fernando, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

Yasir Shah to Oshada Fernando, no run, much fuller, reaches out to flick to mid-on

Yasir Shah to Oshada Fernando, no run, another square up. Yasir now gets it to drift into middle, before gripping, bouncing, spinning extra past the handle