S Lanka beat Pakistan, sweep series

FE Team | Published: August 19, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00

COLOMBO, Aug 18 (AFP): Sri Lanka beat Pakistan by 105 runs in the second and final Test in Colombo Sunday to sweep the series 2-0, giving retiring former captain Mahela Jayawardene a winning farewell.
The tourists, who resumed their second innings at 127-7 chasing a target of 271, were shot out for 165 before lunch on the fifth day at the Sinhalese Sports Club.
Last man Junaid Khan was unable to bat due to injury. Sri Lanka won the first Test in Galle by seven wickets.
Meanwhile, Mahela Jayawardene Monday said a 'gut feeling' prompted him to quit Test cricket as he turned his attention to one last World Cup campaign after near-misses in 2007 and 2011.
The modest former Test captain, one of only five batsmen to top 11,000 runs in both Test and one-day cricket, bowed out after Sri Lanka sealed a 2-0 Test series win over Pakistan.
"Players come and go, but the game continues," the 37-year-old said, after ending a 17-year Test career in which he became one of the great batsmen of modern times.
Jayawardene was hoisted onto his team-mates' shoulders and warmly congratulated by Sri Lanka's president after ending his Test career at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club stadium.
It was a fitting place for his farewell after he shared in a record 624 Test partnership with Kumar Sangakkara there in 2006 and amassed 2,921 Test runs at the venue-the most by any batsman at a single ground.
Jayawardene, who retired from Twenty20 internationals after Sri Lanka became world champions in April, said he would concentrate on one-day matches until next year's World Cup.
"I am not sure I will be selected for the World Cup, but I will focus on one- day cricket," said Jayawardene ahead of the one-day series against Pakistan starting this week.
Jaywardene was captain when Sri Lanka made the World Cup final in 2007, losing to Australia. He also scored a century in the final of the 2011 edition won by India.