Pakistan All Set For Second Sri Lanka Test.

LAHORE -- After surmounting the insurmountable, Pakistan on Saturday completed their preparations for the second and final Test against Sri Lanka, which commences today (Sunday) at the Galle International Cricket Stadium.

The Babar Azam-led side is high on confidence entering this contest after rewriting the history books earlier in the week when they chased down 342 to post the highest successful run chase at Galle. It was also only the third instance of a side chasing down the score of over 100 at this venue, which goes on to underscore the magnitude of the task achieved by the Pakistan batters on a challenging and demanding spin-conducive surface.

'The morale is quite high in the camp as posting a good win gives you a lot of confidence,' Babar told PCB Digital on the eve of the second Test. 'We had complete rest of one day and relaxed our bodies after spending five days in the field. It is very important to look after your body and look after your mental health. You stay on the toes for five days and your mind is constantly working under pressure during a match.

'Therefore, it is of utmost importance to look after yourself. A lot of credit goes to Cliffe [Deacon, team physiotherapist] for how he looks after us. We had a good session yesterday and are looking forward to the next Test. It was an intense competition with highs and lows so we are feeling good after winning it,' he added.

The first Test was a perfect advert for Test cricket with the match swinging like a pendulum. Pakistan, at the back of Shaheen Afridi's four-fer, were able to restrict Sri Lanka to 222. A splendid century from Pakistan captain Babar brought Pakistan within touching distance of Sri Lanka's first innings total after the visitors slipped to seven for 85. Left-arm orthodox Mohammad Nawaz, making a comeback after six years, recorded his maiden international five-fer and was duly supported by another spinner making a comeback, Yasir...