1st Test, Day 1: Pakistan finishes on 24/2 at stumps after bowling out Sri Lanka for 222

Galle, July 16 (IANS): Pakistan were 24/2 at stumps, trailing by 198 runs, after bowling out Sri Lanka for 222 in their first innings on the opening day of the first Test at Galle International Stadium, here on Saturday.

Azhar Ali (3) and skipper Babar Azam (1) were unbeaten at the crease for Pakistan when the play came to an end on Day 1.

Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka hoped to make it count with a big first innings total. But the Pakistan bowling attack, led by Shaheen Afridi, were too hot to handle for the hosts.

Meaningful scores were few and far for Sri Lanka, with Afridi starting the proceedings for the visitors taking the all-important wicket of skipper Dimuth Karunaratne. Afridi took three more wickets in the form of Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella and Maheesh Theekshana, ending with figures of 4/58.

Yasir Shah (2/66) and Hasan Ali (2/23) were also massively impressive, as Pakistan bowled out Sri Lanka to a modest total of 222.

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Sri Lanka batting department. Dinesh Chandimal continued his golden run in Galle after his brilliant double ton against Australia. As wickets were falling, Chandimal was dogged in his resistance, playing a vital knock of 76. He also played a few brilliant shots, taking the attack to the Pakistan pacers.

He got some support from Theekshana, with whom he established a 44-run stand for the ninth wicket. After the departure of Chandimal, Theekshana added 45 runs in a partnership with Kasun Rajitha, which helped the hosts cross the 200-run mark. The spinner played a knock of 38 runs, before finally departing against the brilliance of Shaheen Afridi.

After an under-par total on the board, early wickets were the need of the hour for the hosts and Rajitha delivered just that. He struck Imam-ul-Haq on the pads, trapping him lbw for 2. Imam immediately reviewed the call and ball tracking showed that the delivery was clipping the stumps.

It was an early jitter for Pakistan, who now had to see through an awkward final 45 minutes of the day. Abdullah Shafique and the experienced Azhar Ali adopted a defense-first approach, trying to see through the remainder of the day. They failed to do that as Prabath Jayasuriya got Shafique lbw for 13 with an arm ball.

Thereafter, Azhar Ali along with skipper Babar didn’t let Sri Lanka bowlers pick any other wicket further in the day.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 222 all out (Dinesh Chandimal 68 not out, Maheesh Theekshana 38; Shaheen Afridi 4-58) lead Pakistan 24/2 (Prabath Jayasuriya 1-2) by 198 runs.