Left-hander hits 93 to lift hosts to 434-9 declared before debutant Saqib strikes twice to unsettle Sri Lanka
KARACHI: Pakistan were in a good position as after declaring their first innings at 434-9 they reduced Sri Lanka to 114-3 when bad light hastened the stumps on the second day of the first Test of the two-match series at the Pindi Stadium in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka still trail by 320 runs with seven wickets in hand.
Sri Lanka had a disastrous response as they lost their two early wickets inside three overs that put Pakistan on top.
Seasoned pacer Mohammad Abbas removed Pasindu Sooriyabandara for a duck in the third over after he edged it to keeper Ghazi Ghori.
In the next over 31-year old debutant pacer Saqib Khan got rid of Dinesh Chandimal, held by Agha Salman, to leave the visitors reeling at 12-2 in the fourth over.
However, at this stage skipper Kamindu Mendis and opener Lahiru Udara dug deep to revive the innings. The duo shared 53 runs for the third wicket association. It was Saqib Khan who broke the stand by claiming the wicket of Lahiru who was caught by Ghazi Ghori behind the stumps.
And Sri Lanka were 65-3 at that stage. Lahiru hit seven fours in his solid 42 which came off 52 balls.
Dhananjaya de Silva then joined his skipper Mendis and both batted with great responsibility and built their team’s total without further losing any wicket at close.
They added 49 runs for the fourth wicket unbroken stand. Mendis had struck five fours in his 40 while Dhananjaya made 22 not out with two fours.
Saqib, who belongs to Karachi, had a good day on his debut as he captured 2-54 in 10.1 overs.
Mohammad Abbas claimed 1-23.
Earlier Pakistan declared their first innings on 434-9 with Saud Shakeel scoring 93.
Debutant Arafat Minhas, who also did well in the ODI tri-series recently, contributed a solid fifty to showcase his batting skills in the longest format.
Pakistan resumed at 281-5 with Saud batting on 57 and Ghazi Ghori on seven and added 153 runs before declaring after 106.3 overs.
Saud looked set for his fifth test century but fell seven runs short when he was caught behind by wicket-keeper Kusal Mendis off Asitha Fernando for 93 from 199 deliveries, ending a valuable innings that included nine fours.
Ghori also made a significant contribution, scoring 48 from 72 balls before being caught by Pasindu Sooriyabandara off Dilshan Madushanka.
The pair added 96 runs for the sixth wicket to strengthen Pakistan’s position after the hosts had lost five wickets for 253.
Minhas, playing his first test, impressed with an attacking 52 from 72 balls, hitting nine fours and a six. He was caught by Dhananjaya de Silva off Madushanka, with Pakistan reaching 434-8 at the time.
Razaullah added ten before falling to Lahiru Kumara, while Saqib Khan remained unbeaten on nought when Pakistan declared.
Fernando (3-107) and Madushanka (3-108) claimed three wickets apiece while Lahiru Kumara (1-104) and Milan Rathnayaka (1-72) finished with one wicket each.
Pakistan had earlier benefited from half-centuries by Tayyab Arif, Mohammad Taha and captain Babar Azam on the opening day after Sri Lanka elected to field.
“Earlier on we had started well but pitch was not easy and had we attacked it could have created problems but we latter controlled that,” Saud Shakeel said.
“It really hurts you when you get out without achieving a milestone. I had no plan to play quick but the ball I received was a bit faster off the pitch and I responded a bit slow which resulted in my dismissal,” said Saud, who missed his fifth Test century by just seven runs.