On the first day of the first Test on Saturday, Shaheen Shah Afridi led an effective attack to dismiss Sri Lanka for 222, but the home team fought back with two wickets taken before the end of play.
After losing their openers Imamul Haq and Abdullah Shafique, the tourists had a score of 24 for two at the end of the match at Galle.
At the end of play, Pakistan trailed by 198 runs, and Azhar Ali was batting at third base and Babar Azam was batting at first.
On a track that was supposed to favour spinners, left-arm fast bowler Afridi stood out with figures of 4-58, but Dinesh Chandimal’s aggressive 76 and The hosts’ score was close thanks to a late cameo of 36 from Maheesh Theekshana.
The appeal of Test cricket, according to Afridi, is that occasionally tailenders and lower-order batters pass for legitimate batsmen.
“The final few batsmen batted well, but we [had] to get them out around 150-160. Chandimal performed admirably. The hosts were in trouble at 133-8, but they added 89 runs for the final two wickets, highlighted by a 44-run stand between Theekshana and Chandimal, who both smashed ten fours and a six.
