Shoaib Malik cools himself during his knock of unbeaten 148 in Colombo on Thursday

Colombo: Pakistan opener Shoaib Malik’s unbeaten knock of 148 runs, his maiden Test century, denied Sri Lanka a victory in the first Test on Thursday.

Malik frustrated Sri Lanka’s bowlers on the final day and Pakistan ?? with a 458-run victory target ?? were 337 for four when both the captains agreed to call it a day with seven overs remaining in the day.

The 24-year-old allrounder’s eight-hour innings was an exhibition of patience, self-control and concentration, spanned 369 balls and included 21 fours and two sixes.

All throughout the day Malik stuck rigidly to a defensive plan, relaxing only in the final half hour when he celebrated Pakistan’s escape with a flurry of boundaries, including two straight sixes off Muttiah Muralidharan.

Middle order batsman Faisal Iqbal (60) gave solid support during a 115-run third wicket partnership spanning 193 minutes. Skipper Inzamam-ul Haq also provided stout resistance with 48, adding 81 for the fourth wicket.

The second and final test starts in Kandy on Monday.

Resuming at 89 for two, Pakistan were helped by an 81-minute interruption due to bad light and drizzle during the morning.

Malik and Iqbal survived the morning and early afternoon without major alarm on a pitch that grew increasingly placid.

Even off-spinner Muralidharan (3/94) was handled with relative ease and skipper Mahela Jayawardene used seven bowlers to try and conjure a breakthrough.