COLOMBO: Sri Lankan XI opener Sadeera Samarawickrama and Nuwanidu Fernando tested Pakistan’s bowlers with magnificent half centuries and bolstered their team to finish 278/5 on the second day of the ongoing three-day warm-up match .
On the second day, Pakistan resumed at 277/7 and were only able to add 46 runs to their overnight score despite a hard hit from Salman Ali Agha, who scored 55 from 79 balls, laced with three bounds.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam remained the tour team’s leading scorer with an astonishing 88-run strike. While Azhar Ali contributed 43.
For the Sri Lanka XI, Lakshitha Manasinghe led the way with four wickets while Dilshan Madushanka and Lasith Embuldeniya bagged two each.
Udith Madushan, on the other hand, made a scalp.
In response to Pakistan’s decent total of 323, the Sri Lankan XI batsmen provided a solid start to their team with an astonishing opening position run of 158 runs and tested the Pakistani bowlers.
Right-handed batsman Samarawickrama was the main contributor to the magnificent position, as he scored 91 with a decent strike rate.
He faced 99 deliveries and broke 13 limits before Agha ended the inning on him.
The young side then lost two quick wickets as captain Nipun Dhananjaya and wicket-keeper batsman Lahiru Udara returned to the pavilion in quick succession. Dhananjay and Udara were able to score 14 and four respectively.
First-order batsman Fernando then teamed up with Sahan Arachchige and formed an important 58-run partnership and anchored his team’s position in the match.
Yasir Shah, who spun his legs on the way back, broke the important partnership when he eliminated Fernando by trapping him on his legs. He scored 78 on 177 passes with the help of four boundaries and a six.
Young right-arm pacemaker Naseem Shah then struck in the next over and castled Arachchige at 28.
With half of his side back in the pavilion, opening batsman Madushka and Chamika Karunaratne then added an important 30 runs at the end of day two and bolstered the Sri Lanka XI to finish 278-5.
Madushka (39*) and Karunaratne (14*) will now resume proceedings for the home team with a 45-run deficit on the final day of the warm-up match.
For Pakistan, Mohammad Nawaz took two wickets while Yasir, Naseem and Agha each claimed one wicket.
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