Ton-up Younis guides Pakistan in third Test

Younis Khan hit an unbeaten hundred to lead Pakistan to 199-3 at tea against a big Sri Lankan total in their third and final cricket Test at Sharjah stadium on Saturday. The 33-year-old was unbeaten on 100 -- his 18th hundred in 71 Tests -- and has added 66 runs for the unfinished fourth wicket stand with skipper Misbah-ul Haq who was 16 not out at the break on the third day of the match. Pakistan still trail Sri Lanka's first innings total by 214 runs with seven wickets in hand. Younis ran a sharp single off paceman Chanaka Welegedara in the last over before tea to reach the three-figure mark, taking 188 balls studded with eleven boundaries and a six off spinner Suraj Randiv. Misbah was mostly blocking before hitting his 53rd delivery for his first boundary, ensuring Pakistan don't lose track of gaining a decisive lead in their bid to win the series 2-0, a victory which would elevate them to fifth in rankings. Pakistan are currently sixth in ICC (International Cricket Council) Test rankings. Sri Lanka were a bowler short after frontline paceman Dhammika Prasad injured a muscle and was unable to bowl on the third morning. That helped Azhar Ali, who scored his maiden hundred in the last match in Dubai, and Younis to bat out the first session without any trouble. Younis swept off-spinner Suraj Randiv for his eighth boundary to complete his 26th half-century in his 71st Test. Initially the Pakistani batsmen were cautious before Younis posted the 100 with a boundary off part-time spinner Tillakaratne Dilshan. Younis, on 30, survived a close leg-before shout against left-arm spinner Rangana Herath who extracted some spin out of an otherwise batting-friendly pitch. Ali reached his 11th Test fifty soon after lunch but was bowled by medium pacer Kosala Kulasekara's incoming delivery in the sixth over after lunch, for the debutant's first Test wicket. Pakistan lead the three-Test series 1-0 after their crushing nine-wicket win in the second match in Dubai. The first Test in Abu Dhabi ended in draw.