Pakistan strengthened their hold on the opening Test against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, declaring their first innings at 434 for nine before reducing the visitors to 114 for three at the close of the second day at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Sri Lanka, who still trail by 320 runs, will resume their innings on the third day with Kamindu Mendis unbeaten on 40 and Dhananjaya de Silva on 22. Their resistance came after Pakistan’s pace attack made early inroads, although bad light brought an end to play after 27.1 overs.
Resuming at 281 for five, Pakistan built on their overnight position through a series of valuable contributions, with Saud Shakeel and debutant Ghazi Ghori adding 96 runs for the sixth wicket.
Saud, who had reached 57 on the opening day, continued to anchor the innings but narrowly missed out on a century, falling for 93 off 199 balls after being caught behind off Asitha Fernando.
Ghazi provided useful support with 48 before his dismissal brought debutant Arafat Minhas to the crease. Minhas made an impressive contribution, striking 52 off 72 deliveries, including nine boundaries and a six, to further strengthen Pakistan’s position.
He was eventually dismissed by Dilshan Madushanka, while Razaullah added a brisk 10 before Pakistan declared in the 107th over.
The innings was notable for the number of half-centuries, with five Pakistan batters reaching the milestone. Three of those came from debutants, as Tayyab Arif scored 57, Mohammad Taha made 51 and Minhas contributed 52. Captain Babar Azam also registered a half-century, while Shakeel’s 93 proved the highest individual score.
Fernando and Madushanka shared six wickets between them, claiming three apiece, but Sri Lanka struggled to contain Pakistan’s batting depth.
In reply, Pakistan’s fast bowlers quickly put the visitors under pressure. Mohammad Abbas provided the breakthrough by removing opener Pasindu Sooriyabandara for a duck, caught behind, before debutant Saqib Khan struck to dismiss Dinesh Chandimal for just one.
Lahiru Udara attempted to stabilise the innings with a fighting 42, but Saqib struck again, having him caught behind by Ghazi to leave Sri Lanka in further trouble.
With three wickets down, Mendis and de Silva showed greater composure, putting together an unbeaten 49-run partnership to prevent further setbacks. Mendis looked particularly assured, reaching 40, while de Silva remained not out on 22 as the pair negotiated Pakistan’s attack.
However, the fading light prevented Pakistan from making further inroads, forcing the umpires to call an early close.
Pakistan will resume on the third day firmly in control, with a substantial first-innings lead and three Sri Lankan wickets already in hand.
The visitors, meanwhile, face the difficult task of rebuilding their innings and narrowing the deficit, with Mendis and de Silva carrying the responsibility of providing the resistance needed to keep them in the contest.
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