Chasing 300 possible on this wicket - Azhar Ali
Pakistan are 1-0 down in the series and need to win the second Test to maintain their unbeaten run at home that stretches back to ten years.
"We were left with 15 overs to have a crack at them and we thought it was a good opportunity. They had got a big lead but then third innings is important. It has given us a bit of hope. We thought that we will be left with a big target to chase, but this session has given us a little bit of hope. Hopefully we will have a good session tomorrow and bowl them out cheaply. Chasing 300 is possible on this track," Azhar told journalists.
Azhar, who reached 5000 Test runs during the Abu Dhabi Test is Pakistan's senior most batsman following the retirements of Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq. He top scored in the first innings in Abu Dhabi with 85 runs and once again was the top scorer in Dubai with 59 runs.
"These kind of wickets that you get here, you need to make it big. It's a slow wicket and hard to get a start, but once you get settled it becomes easy. It's disappointing that even in the first game, lot of us - including me - had got starts and couldn't kick on. But we are still positive. The guys are playing well. Everyone wants to make it big. It has not happened yet but we have one innings left and hopefully someone will make it big. You never know in this game."
Azhar has all the reasons to be positive as the last series these two teams were involved in, saw Pakistan chase down a target of 377 at Pallekele. It is a record run chase in Sri Lanka and Pakistan won with seven wickets to spare to clinch the series 2-1.
"We have chased 370 plus runs to beat Sri Lanka in a Test match and that should give us confidence," Azhar added.
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