Late Lanka wkts fail to spice up Karachi draw

The result of the match on the flattest of pitches was a foregone conclusion and the only interest left on the final day was whether captain Younus Khan would get past legendary Pakistani Hanif Mohammad’s 337 or West Indian Brian Lara’s world record highest innings score of 400 not out.

But Younis’ dismissal early in the morning with the addition of just seven runs to his overnight 306 left almost nothing at stake before Akmal’s entertaining innings.

Akmal and Yasir Arafat (50) added another 169 for the unbroken six wicket in 38.3 overs before Pakistan declared their innings in reply to Sri Lanka’s 644 for seven declared.

Younis,who became the only third Pakistani to hit a triple century,not only failed to get past Hanif Mohammad’s record but also fall short of Inzamam-ul-Haq’s 329.

There was little to play for Sri Lanka in their second innings but they placed themselves in a spot of bother by losing three wickets for 45 in only their seventh over.