Sri Lanka amass 644 against Pakistan in first Test

KARACHI: Mahela Jayawardene struck his first double-century outside Sri Lanka - his fifth overall - while Thilan Samaraweera went past 200 for the first time in his Test career to put the visitors in a rock solid position in the first Test.

They further strengthened their position by dismissing Salman Butt shortly before stumps on the second day here at the National Stadium while debutant opener Khurram Manzoor (18) and captain Younis Khan (0) were still at the crease.

The two batsmen set a Test record for the fourth wicket with a 437-run stand against Pakistan, eclipsing the previous record of 411 runs set by England's Peter May and Colin Cowdrey against the West Indies at Birmingham in 1957.

Jayawardene ended on 240 and Samaraweera 231 and both fell in successive overs before tea on the second day,

Later, Sri Lanka declared their first innings at 644-7, their best ever total in a Test against Pakistan in Test.

Tillakaratne Dilshan was out in the last over before tea for nought, leaving Prasanna Jayawardene unbeaten without scoring at the break.

The overnight pair of Jayawardene and Samaraweera batted through all but two overs in the first two sessions before Pakistani bowlers were rewarded with three wickets for an unchanged score of 614.

Jayawardene fell when he miscued a sweep shot off spinner Shoaib Malik and was caught one-handed by diving wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal behind the stumps.

The Sri Lankan skipper hit 32 boundaries during his 531-minute stay at the crease. Samaraweera was bowled by leg-spinner Danish Kaneria after hitting 31 boundaries during his 457-minute innings.

Resuming at 406-3, the pair also beat Sri Lanka's previous best fourth-wicket stand in all Test cricket of 240, set by Asanka Gurusinha and Arjuna Ranatunga against Pakistan in Colombo in 1986.

They then took Sri Lanka past their highest Test total against Pakistan, overhauling the 528 they scored at Lahore in 2002. Samaraweera also improved his previous highest Test score of 142 against England at Colombo in 2003