Asif has already taken 25 wickets in five Test appearances

Asif took 5-27 to follow his 6-44 in the first innings as Sri Lanka slumped to 73-8 at stumps on the second day.

"We have seen some high quality pace bowling in this game and Mohammad Asif has bowled brilliantly.

"He can be as good as some of the fast bowling greats that Pakistan have produced over the years," said Zaheer.

Sri Lanka skipper Mahela Jayawardene was equally impressed, saying: "There was something in the wicket and they bowled well, especially Asif."

But his side still have a good chance of winning a low-scoring game as they hold a 182-run lead with one wicket remaining.

"We made a brilliant comeback after not starting that well with the ball, but they came back at us very strongly in the second innings.

"We'd have liked to have had a specialist batsman at the crease overnight but the bottom line is that we have to defend whatever total we get," Jayawardene commented.

Barring the intervention of bad weather, a positive result either way is inevitable with three days of play still possible.