The duo share 249 for the fifth wicket unbroken stand to put Pakistan under pressure in Pindi
\n Rawalpindi
\nDhananjaya de Silva and skipper Kusal Mendis blasted unbeaten centuries to put Sri Lanka in commanding position against Pakistan on the third day of their first Test at the Pindi Stadium in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.
\nDe Silva (167 not out) and Mendis (117 not out) put together 249 runs for the fifth wicket unbroken stand to enable Sri Lanka reach 404-4 in 102 overs in their first innings as bad light hastened the stumps. They still trail by 30 runs with six wickets in hand.
\nThe pair can breake the highest fifth-wicket stand on the fourth day as they are on the brink of achieving that milestone.
\nThe highest 280-run fifth-wicket stand had been shared by Thilan Samaraweera and Tilakaratne Dilshan against Bangladesh in Colombo on September 20, 2005.
\nDe Silva, who completed his 14th Test century off 151 balls and brought in his 150 off 216 deliveries, smashed 20 fours in his marathon knock. De Silva faced 241 balls in his fine innings which was full of patience as he waited for a loose delivery to be dispatched towards the boundary.
\nMendis, on the other hand, brought in his 11th Test century off 152 balls, smashing ten fours and four sixes. He faced 188 balls.
\nMohammad Abbas was the only successful bowler on the third day as he removed Kamindu to finish the day with 2-64.
\nSaqib Khan, who had taken two early wickets on Tuesday, finished the day at 2-105 in 26 overs.
\nYoung pacer Razaullah conceded 127 runs in 23 overs and was the most expensive bowler.
\nPakistan also utilized spinners Arafat Minhas and Salman Ali Agha but they also did not trouble Sri Lankan batsman.
\nResuming their first innings at 114-3 in reply to Pakistan\u2019s 434-9 declared, Sri Lanka did well to put the hosts under pressure which looked fatigued following superb batting display by the visitors.
\nSaesoned pacer Mohammad Abbas provided breakthrough in the first session when he had Kamindu Mendis, who edged it to keeper Ghazi Ghori. Mendis, who hit eight fours in his 58, shared 90 runs for the fourth wicket stand with Dhananjaya de Silva.
\nOn Tuesday Sri Lanka had lost two early wickets after beginning their reply, with Pasindu Sooriyabandara dismissed for a duck and Dinesh Chandimal falling for one. Lahiru Udara contributed 42.
\nPakistan had declared their first innings at 434-9, built around Saud Shakeel\u2019s 93, Tayyab Arif\u2019s 57, Arafat Minhas\u2019s 52, Mohammad Taha\u2019s 51 and captain Babar Azam\u2019s 50.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The duo share 249 for the fifth wicket unbroken stand to put Pakistan under pressure in Pindi Rawalpindi Dhananjaya de Silva and skipper Kusal Mendis blasted unbeaten centuries to put Sri Lanka in commanding position against Pakistan on the third day of their first Test at the Pindi Stadium in Rawalpindi on Wednesday. De Silva […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":577274,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-577248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n