GALLE: Sri Lanka ended the opening day of the first Test in a relatively comfortable position as their bowlers restricted Pakistan at 2/24 after batsmen could only muster 222 in the first innings.
Pakistan, responding to Sri Lanka’s 222, finished the opening day on 24/2 after Prabath Jayasuriya and Kasun Rajitha eliminated both starters Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq in quick succession by just 13 and two respectively. .
After the initial setback, Pakistan captain Babar Azam (1*) and veteran right-handed batsman Azhar Ali (3*) will now resume proceedings for the touring team with a 198-run deficit.
Batting first, Sri Lanka were only able to manage 222 runs on the board despite a brave half-century from their in-form batsman Chandimal, as the rest of the batsmen were unable to contribute significantly to the total.
The right-handed batsman scored more for the side with 76 from 115 balls over the course of his fighting stroke, tied with 10 bounds and a six.
Apart from Chandimal, Sri Lankan right-arm pacemaker Maheesh Theekshana remained the significant contributor as he scored an important 38 runs in order and bolstered the home team to a commendable total.
For Pakistan, Shaheen led the way with four wickets while Yasir Shah and Hasan Ali bagged two each. Mohammad Nawaz and Naseem Shah, on the other hand, struck out one batter each.
Sri Lanka, after resuming their early innings at 166/8 in the opening day’s final session, added 56 runs for the remaining two wickets as Theekshana showed brilliance after Chandimal’s dismissal and added fast runs in the kill.
The touring team earlier enjoyed a delightful second session as the hosts were only able to add 86 runs at the cost of four wickets on the back of an undefeated strike from Chandimal.
Resuming their score at 80/4 after lunch, Sri Lanka soon lost half of their side with a combined score of 99 as Shaheen claimed his second wicket by eliminating Dhananjaya de Silva by 14.
Goalkeeper batsman Niroshan Dickwella’s stay in the crease, too, was short-lived as the pacer in his left arm struck again to provide Pakistan with their sixth breakthrough.
Chandimal and Ramesh Mendis then looked to anchor proceedings for Sri Lanka as they added a significant 27 runs for seventh wicket before right-arm sprinter Naseem struck the former by eliminating the latter in the 11th.
All-rounder Nawaz then pushed the hosts even further when he eliminated bottom Prabath Jayasuriya by four as Sri Lanka eventually dropped to 133/8.
In the midst of the frustrating meltdown, right-handed batsman Chandimal showed amazing resilience and single-handedly kept the scoreboard going as he scored bounds at will. He shattered Naseem for three straight limits in the 45 to bring out his 22nd Proof Half-Century.
Sri Lanka, after opting to bat first, got off to a poor start when left arm pacer Shaheen struck in his second over to eliminate Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne by just one.
After the initial setback, the hosts marched to recovery with a gutsy partnership of 49 runs for the second wicket as starter Oshada Fernando and Kusal Mendis batted sensibly and anchored the innings.
The duo seemed settled and were scoring comfortably, until the 15th before Yasir, who spun his legs and came back, eliminated Mendis by 21. He faced 35 deliveries and broke three boundaries. Following his departure, the hosts dropped to 60/2.
Pakistan pacemaker Hasan added to the home team’s misery when he struck out Fernando in the next over, who remained Sri Lanka’s leading scorer thus far with 35 runs from 49 deliveries.
With the team struggling at 60/3, veteran Sri Lankan batsman Angelo Mathews looked to calm things down and took a defensive approach, only to bag a 15-ball duck to Yasir.
Following Mathews’ dismissal, the home team found themselves in all sorts of trouble at 68/4 in the 21st. Sri Lanka’s hero for the second test against Australia, Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva, continued until lunch when they added 12 runs for the fifth wicket to help Sri Lanka finish at 80/4.
READ: Sri Lanka wins toss, chooses to bat first against Pakistan in first Test
