Left-hander hits 93 to lift hosts to 434-9 declared before debutant Saqib strikes twice to unsettle Sri Lanka
\n Rawalpindi
\nPakistan 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.
\nSri Lanka still trail by 320 runs with seven wickets in hand.
\nSri Lanka had a disastrous response as they lost their two early wickets inside three overs that put Pakistan on top.
\nSeasoned pacer Mohammad Abbas removed Pasindu Sooriyabandara for a duck in the third over after he edged it to keeper Ghazi Ghori.
\nIn 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.
\nHowever, 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.
\nAnd Sri Lanka were 65-3 at that stage. Lahiru hit seven fours in his solid 42 which came off 52 balls.
\nDhananjaya de Silva then joined his skipper Mendis and both batted with great responsibility and built their team\u2019s total without further losing any wicket at close.
\nThey 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.
\nSaqib, who belongs to Karachi, had a good day on his debut as he captured 2-54 in 10.1 overs.
\nMohammad Abbas claimed 1-23.
\nEarlier Pakistan declared their first innings on 434-9 with Saud Shakeel scoring 93.
\nDebutant 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.
\nPakistan resumed at 281-5 with Saud batting on 57 and Ghazi Ghori on seven and added 153 runs before declaring after 106.3 overs.
\nSaud 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.
\nGhori also made a significant contribution, scoring 48 from 72 balls before being caught by Pasindu Sooriyabandara off Dilshan Madushanka.
\nThe pair added 96 runs for the sixth wicket to strengthen Pakistan\u2019s position after the hosts had lost five wickets for 253.
\nMinhas, 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.
\nRazaullah added ten before falling to Lahiru Kumara, while Saqib Khan remained unbeaten on nought when Pakistan declared.
\nFernando (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.
\nPakistan 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Left-hander hits 93 to lift hosts to 434-9 declared before debutant Saqib strikes twice to unsettle Sri Lanka Rawalpindi 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":577066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-577052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n