Sri Lanka's recent resurgence

A look at the numbers from Sri Lanka's largest Test victory over Pakistan

25-Jun-2012

Younis Khan battled through the morning session, Sri Lanka v Pakistan, 1st Test, Galle, 4th day, June 25, 2012

The 209-run win was Sri Lanka's tenth against Pakistan and their first since the seven-wicket victory at the P Sara Oval in 2009. It was their fourth win against Pakistan in home Tests. The margin was the largest (in terms of runs) for Sri Lanka against Pakistan. It was also Sri Lanka's third Test victory since the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan in 2010. All three wins have come in the last five matches. Since Murali retired, Sri Lanka have lost seven and drawn ten tests.

The win was Sri Lanka's 11th in 20 Tests in Galle and their second in three Tests against Pakistan at the venue. Sri Lanka's win-loss ratio of 2.75 in Galle is their second-best at home. Their best win-loss ratio is at the SSC (2.83).

Pakistan, who were bowled out for 100 in their first innings, were dismissed for 300 in their second innings. It is the first time in Tests that a team has been bowled out twice in the same match for a round-figure total (100, 200, 300 etc)

Sri Lanka failed to take 20 wickets in a Test in the first eight matches after Murali's retirement. Since then (12 matches), they have bowled the opposition out on five occasions.

Younis Khan became the 21st batsman and the first from Pakistan to aggregate 1000 runs in the fourth innings. His average of 59.70 is the highest among batsmen with 1000-plus runs in the fourth innings. By falling for 87, Younis missed out on becoming the only player to score five centuries in the fourth innings. He is level with four other batsmen on four hundreds.

Asad Shafiq's 80 was his fifth half-century and his second against Sri Lanka. His only century was against Bangladesh in December 2011. Despite Shafiq and Younis scoring half-centuries, Pakistan lost by 209 runs. It is the ninth time Pakistan have lost a Test despite two or more batsmen making fifty-plus scores in the fourth innings.

The 151-run stand between Younis and Shafiq was the second-highest fifth-wicket partnership for Pakistan in the fourth innings. It was also the second-highest fifth-wicket stand for Pakistan in a Test defeat. The partnership between Younis and Shafiq was also the best fifth-wicket stand in Galle.

Suraj Randiv's match haul of 7 for 99 was the third-best bowling performance by a Sri Lankan spinner against Pakistan in home Tests. It was also Randiv's second-best match performance after the 9 for 162 against India at the P Sara Oval in 2010.

Only on four previous occasions have Pakistan played more overs in the fourth innings as they did in this match (114 overs). Of the eight times Pakistan played 100-plus overs in the fourth innings, they won one and lost three

Younis Khan Sri Lanka Pakistan Sri Lanka vs Pakistan Pakistan tour of Sri Lanka Galle International Stadium

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan is a sub-editor (stats) at ESPNcricinfo