Exactly half a dozen years ago, Sri Lanka legend, Kumar Sangakkara, scored his 26th Test century, his eighth double century, against Pakistan in a Man-of-the-Match performance at Abu Dhabi.

His 201-run partnership with Prasanna Jayawardene was instrumental in saving the test match for Sri Lanka. Having won the toss, the then Pakistani captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, had elected to field. Junaid Khan, with his maiden five-wicket haul, 14.1-3-38-5, ran through the Sri Lankan batting line-up (197-10 in 74.1 overs) on Day 1.

In reply, Taufeeq Umar scored his sixth Test century, a maiden double century and career-best 236 (497) comprising of 17 fours and a six. Half-centuries from Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali helped Pakistan to score 511-6 dec. in 174.4 overs.

With Sri Lanka reeling at 233-5 and with a trail of 81 runs on them in the final session of the penultimate day, it appeared as if Pakistan would win the encounter. This was when Sangakkara and Jayawardene joined hands to build a rescue act for their team. The southpaw ended up scoring 211 (431) with the help of 18 fours. The wicket-keeper, Jayawardene, also chipped in with his fourth Test century, 120 (273), with the help of 12 fours.

In their second innings, Sri Lanka were bundled out on 483 in 168 overs. With only 10 more overs remaining in the day, a draw was the only possible outcome of the hard fought match. Watch Sangakkara’s full innings here: