PAK vs SL: Prabath Jayasuriya created major difference, Babar Azam acknowledges

GALLE: Pakistani skipper Babar Azam applauded Sri Lankan spinner Prabath Jayasuriya for sticking to perfect line and length despite all odds which helped his team beat Pakistan by 246 to save two-match series here on Thursday. 

Jayasuriya bagged five wickets in second innings followed by three wickets in first to complete 17 wickets overall in the Test series which earned him man-of-the-series award. 

It was his fourth five-fer in just sixth Test matches he has played so far since his debut against Australia earlier this year. 

"Jayasuriya created a major difference," Pakistani skipper acknowledged. "He was focused and contained line and length to outclass us. His patient attitude even after conceding a boundary made him so accurate and this is why he took wickets," he added. 

What went wrong?

Babar felt that lack of partnerships hurt them the most. "I think we were short of good partnerships. We lost wickets, especially some soft dismissals, which put pressure on us," he highlighted. 

"We needed to be more patient. Our players have showed some good performances in recent past. We will try to comeback in this format quickly," he added. 

Switching to other formats

Pakistan team is scheduled to tour Netherlands in August to play three ODIs. Thereafter, the Green Shirts will be busy playing lots of T20 cricket until the mega T20 World Cup which concluded in November this year. 

"There is a lot of cricket today, hence you need to switch as quickly as possible," Babar emphasized. 

"We are currently focused on the upcoming ODI series against Netherlands. We will then move onto Asia Cup which is also important for us," he said.

"T20 World Cup is too far, we will go series by series," the number one white-ball format batter concluded.