Sri Lanka recovered from a shaky start to close the second day of the first Test against Pakistan at 114-3 in 27.1 overs at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday, remaining 320 runs behind the hosts. The visitors suffered an early setback when Mohammad Abbas dismissed opener Pasindu Sooriyabandara for a duck after just seven deliveries, giving Pakistan their first breakthrough.
Pakistan's debutant Saqib Mahmood further dented Sri Lanka's innings by removing Dinesh Chandimal for one off three balls. The dismissal marked Saqib's maiden international wicket and left the visitors in trouble at 12-2 after 3.3 overs.
However, Lahiru Udara and Kamindu Mendis steadied the innings with a composed approach, building a 50-run partnership to ease the pressure. Saqib struck again to claim his second wicket, dismissing Udara for 42 off 52 deliveries.
His dismissal left Sri Lanka reeling at 65-3 after 16.5 overs. Dhananjaya de Silva joined Kamindu Mendis at the crease, and the pair put together an unbeaten 50-run partnership to take the visitors past the 100-run mark.
Play was halted early due to bad light, with Kamindu Mendis unbeaten on 40 and De Silva on 22. Earlier, Pakistan declared their first innings at 434-9 in 106.3 overs.
Resuming day two, Saud Shakeel and Ghazi Ghori added 96 runs for the sixth wicket. Dilshan Madushanka dismissed Ghazi for 48, while Asitha Fernando removed Shakeel for 93.
Arafat Minhas scored his maiden Test half-century (52) before falling to Madushanka. Earlier, Azan Awais (30), Tayyab Arif (57), Babar Azam (50), and Mohammad Taha (51) contributed significantly to Pakistan's total.