Pakistan declared on 434 for 9 after Saud Shakeel fell for 93, then Saqib Khan and Mohammad Abbas reduced Sri Lanka to 114 for 3 before bad light ended Day 2 early in Rawalpindi, leaving the visitors 320 runs behind with seven wickets in hand.
Rawalpindi, Pakistan: The first Test tilted firmly towards the home side on Tuesday. Pakistan resumed on 281 for 5 after a Day 1 shaped by two debut fifties, batted on into the afternoon and then struck three times before the light faded, setting up a first-innings lead that Sri Lanka will have to chip away at on Wednesday.
Shakeel falls seven short
Overnight batters Saud Shakeel and Ghazi Ghori carried the innings forward. Ghori made 48 off 72 balls before Dilshan Madushanka removed him with the score at 349 for 6. Shakeel then ground on, 199 balls in all, but fell for 93 when Asitha Fernando found his edge at 393 for 7. It was a patient innings that stopped seven runs short of a hundred.
Arafat Minhas kept the scoreboard moving with a brisk 52 before Madushanka had him too, and Lahiru Kumara removed Razaullah for 10. Babar Azam then called the innings to a close on 434 for 9 in 106.3 overs, an innings that contained five half-centuries, including the two debut fifties from Day 1.
Fernando and Madushanka took three wickets each, at a cost of 107 and 108 runs respectively. Kumara, Milan Rathnayaka and Sonal Dinusha shared the other three.
Abbas and Saqib strike early
Sri Lanka needed a platform and did not find one. Mohammad Abbas, who finished with 1 for 23 from nine overs, removed Pasindu Sooriyabandara for a seven-ball duck, and Saqib Khan followed by dismissing Dinesh Chandimal for 1. Lahiru Udara, who was called up as Pathum Nissanka’s replacement, played the one assertive innings of the top order, striking 42 off 52 balls before Saqib had him caught by Ghori for the third wicket.
Mendis and de Silva hold on
Kamindu Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva stopped the slide. Mendis reached 40 off 78 balls and de Silva 22 off 28, and the pair were still together when deteriorating light brought stumps forward after only 27.1 overs of the Sri Lankan innings. Saqib finished with 2 for 54 from 10.1 overs.
The Test is scheduled to finish on Friday 13 November. Sri Lanka resume on Wednesday with seven wickets in hand, still 320 runs adrift.
Day 2 close of play: Pakistan 434/9 declared in 106.3 overs (Saud Shakeel 93, Tayyab Arif 57, Arafat Minhas 52, Mohammad Taha 51, Babar Azam 50, Ghazi Ghori 48; Asitha Fernando 3/107, Dilshan Madushanka 3/108). Sri Lanka 114/3 in 27.1 overs (Lahiru Udara 42, Kamindu Mendis 40*, Dhananjaya de Silva 22*; Saqib Khan 2/54, Mohammad Abbas 1/23). Sri Lanka trail by 320 runs.
