"If he bowls 50 overs in the entire match then I am bound to make a mistake at some point" - Babar Azam on his struggles against Prabath Jayasuriya 

Pakistan captain Babar Azam opened up on his batting woes against Sri Lanka spinner Prabath Jayasuriya in the ongoing two-match Test series between the two Asian countries.

Babar encountered a dismal performance with the bat in the island nation, accumulating just 76 runs in three innings at an average of 25.33. He was dismissed by the wily spinner Jayasuriya on all three occasions.

Azam overall averages 28.7 (172 runs) against the Sri Lankan left-arm spinner, who has dismissed him six times since the duo faced each other in 2022 for the first time. Speaking about the challenges posed by Sri Lanka's new spin sensation, Babar Azam said in a post-series press conference.

"If he bowls 50 overs in the entire match, then I am bound to make a mistake at some point. He is one of Sri Lanka’s best bowlers. I have indeed been dismissed by him quite a lot of times and I have worked on it as well. I also scored runs in the last innings."

Babar further acknowledged that barring him, other Pakistan batters showed great intent against Jayasuriya. He added:

"I am only one who got out to him. But our batters played him really well and dominated him. We have won as a team. If I am struggling, then others have stepped up, which is a positive sign for me as a captain."

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Babar Azam leads Pakistan to a series win over SL

Pakistan trounced Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs in the second Test to complete a 2-0 sweep in the island nation. The Babar Azam-led side kicked off the new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle on a positive note.

Opener Abdullah Shafique slammed his maiden double ton (201) to power Pakistan to a humongous 410-run lead in the first innings. The visitors shot down Dimuth Karunaratne and his men for 188 thanks to Noman Ali's staggering career-best figures (7 for 70).

Pakistan don't have any bilateral series further across formats before the Asia Cup 2023, which they will jointly host with Sri Lanka.