Fifties from Dhananjaya de Silva and Kamindu Mendis helped Sri Lanka reach 221-4 at lunch on day three of the opening Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Wednesday. After resuming at 114-3, De Silva was on 87 after reaching his 21st half-century, while skipper Kusal Mendis was 21 not out, leaving the tourists still 213 runs behind Pakistan's first innings 434-9 declared.
Sri Lanka lost just one wicket in the session as De Silva and Kamindu put on 91 for the fourth wicket, enjoying a stroke of fortune along the way. De Silva, on 38, flashed at a Razaullah delivery but Saud Shakeel failed to hold on to a sharp chance at slip.
De Silva took full advantage of the reprieve and has so far hit nine fours off 121 balls. Kamindu completed his eighth Test fifty before edging Mohammad Abbas to wicketkeeper Ghazi Ghori to leave Sri Lanka 155-4.
Kamindu's 58 came off 131 balls with eight fours. Seamer Abbas (2-33) was the pick of the Pakistan bowlers while fellow quick Saqib Khan has taken 2-82 on his debut.
Earlier on day two, Sri Lanka endured a disappointing start to their innings as opener Pasindu Sooriyabandara was dismissed for a seven-ball duck by Mohammad Abbas. Debutant Saqib Khan then joined Abbas in the wickets column, claiming his maiden international wicket by dismissing Dinesh Chandimal for just one off three deliveries.
The dismissal left Sri Lanka reeling at 12-2 after 3.3 overs. However, Lahiru Udara and Kamindu Mendis steadied the innings with a composed approach, gradually building a partnership to ease the pressure following the early setbacks.
The duo brought up a 50-run stand, taking Sri Lanka past the half-century mark and providing much-needed stability to the innings. Saqib struck again to claim his second wicket, dismissing Udara for 42 off 52 deliveries, including seven boundaries.
His departure left Sri Lanka at 65-3 after 16.5 overs. Meanwhile, Pakistan posted an imposing 434-9 before declaring their first innings after 106.3 overs, with five batters, including three debutants, registering half-centuries.
Saud Shakeel led the scoring with 93 off 199 deliveries, striking nine boundaries. Debutant Tayyab Arif contributed 57 off 51 balls, including nine fours and a six, while fellow debutant Arafat Minhas scored 52 off 72 deliveries, hitting nine fours and a six.
The third debutant, Mohammad Taha, also made an impressive contribution, scoring 51 off 105 balls with six boundaries. Captain Babar Azam brought up a half-century off 58 deliveries, including seven fours, while Ghazi Ghori narrowly missed out on his fifty, finishing with 48 off 72 balls, including two boundaries.