(By Ireshan Siriwardana)
It is a record defeat. This is the first time in nearly 150 years of Test history that a team scored more than 500 runs in the first innings and lost the match by an innings.
In any case, the modern Pakistan team is not unfamiliar with such extreme defeats.
This is their sixth Test defeat in a row. Earlier they lost two matches against Bangladesh and three matches against Australia.
And this is their sixth defeat under the leadership of Shan Mashood.
It is special that they lost in the tournament with Bangladesh as well from such a winning and strong position.
In the first match, they scored 448 runs for six wickets in their first innings and suspended the innings, then lost the match.
It was an embarrassing defeat.
In the second match, Bangladesh lost the first six wickets in the first innings for 26 runs.
However, when the match ended on the fifth day, Pakistan had lost.
Accordingly, it is clear that this Pakistani team is mentally very weak, gives up matches and has no determination.
Also, they seem to maintain well the unreliable, unstable (Unpredictable) nature common to Pakistani cricket since history.
However, past Pakistani teams were not diluted like this in the Test format.
Poor mentality of Pakistan team
Once they had Javed Miandad and Salim Malik. After that there were Inzamam ul Haq and Mohammad Yusuf. They were very good Test batsmen.
However, the golden era of the Pakistan Test team was not written by them.
The generation after them, Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan played in the Pakistan Test team was extremely strong.
When Misbah and Younis joined the wicket, it became a strong challenge for any bowling force in the world to dismiss them.
It is clear that Babar Azam, who took over the baton after them, has not even half the bearing that Misbah had.
However, the sad thing is that Sri Lanka lost in front of such a fluid Pakistan team.
Pakistan won the Test series held in Sri Lanka in 2023 2-0.
It was also affected by the weak leadership of the Sri Lankan team.
If Sri Lanka had succeeded in winning those two matches, a place in the finals of the World Test Championship would have been easily reserved for Sri Lanka.
