After Babar Azam was bowled by left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya, who finished with 4-56 in the second innings, Pakistan slipped to 79-4 while chasing 131. Imam-ul-Haq then rose as the shining star for the struggling side and worked with Saud Shakeel to steady the ship, but Sri Lanka refused to give up despite having a pitiful score to defend. Imam, though, who was still unbeaten at 50, stood at the other end and watched as Agha Salman won the match in spectacular fashion by driving the first ball he faced toward the boundary.
Shakeel was selected Player of the Match after helping Pakistan to a commanding first-innings lead of 149 with his first Test double century. Though Dhananjaya de Silva's valiant 122 helped the host team reach 312 in their first innings, Sri Lanka's top order was unable to do the decision to bat first credit. Starting on Monday, the teams will travel to Colombo for the second and final Test.