Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test at Karachi, Feb 21 2009 - Ball by Ball Commentary

Ok folks, the captains have decided to end the game, realising there's no result possible from here on. Handshakes all around and Pakistan will emerge as the team with the upper hand after this draw. Plenty of runs scored in the first innings, lots of landmarks reached and a number of records broken, but kudos to the Pakistan bowlers to make things interesting on the fifth day, after a rather drab effort in the first innings. The fact that they managed to overhaul a mammoth Sri Lankan score and put them under pressure on the last day means Pakistan go into the next Test with more confidence, and the momentum. A satisfactory finish, though it didn't seem like it initially, to their first Test outing in almost 14 months. We'll get back to you in a bit with all the presentation details.

Lots of sponsor awards being given out at the start, for players hitting the most boundaries etc. Will get you the more important stuff soon.

Younis Khan has been named the Man of the Match for his triple.

Mahela: "Being the away captain, you always want to compete well. We dominated this game for the first couple of days, but were disappointed with the way we batted in the last couple of hours. Overall, though, a satisfying effort with the bat. As for the partnership with Samaraweera, we took it session by session and it felt very similar to the big stand I shared with Sangakkara against South Africa. The bowlers do complain about pitches like these, and rightly so, otherwise they'll be an endangered species if we continue to play on tracks like these."

Younis: "We were under pressure at the end of the second day, but an innings like that always lifts the team and hopefully we'll come up with a similar performance with the bat in Lahore. We were just hoping for three wickets in the second innings but ended up getting more. I thought we bowled well, especially Gul and Kaneria and we're very happy about having met our targets."

So that's all folks. It's been fun bringing you this Test, as it always is and thanks a lot for your feedback. Don't forget to to join us for the second Test in Lahore starting on March 1. Until then, on behalf of everyone at Cricinfo, it's goodbye from Siddhartha Talya on the commentary and Balaji from the scoring desk. Adios!

Zaki: "why you people are so excited...dont panic, nothing going to happen in this test - its a draw anyways". Well, did we ever think we'd reach here, after what happened on the first four days?

Gul bowling round the wicket now, there's a leg slip in place

Rohit: "Hey.. what's the rule of extending play on the 5th day if a result is in sight, and the stipulated number of overs have been bowled?"

The extra half-hour can only be taken till the fourth day, not the fifth