Batsmen Dhananjay de Silva and Angelo Mathews led the defense for Sri Lanka after Pakistan star pacer Shaheen Afridi took an early wicket on the opening day of the first Test in Galle on Sunday.
Sri Lanka were 242/6 at stumps and Dhananjaya de Silva (94*) was unbeaten at the crease. After several injuries, Shaheen Afridi became the 19th bowler for Pakistan to claim 100 wickets in Test cricket in his second over.
Afridi was far from firing at full-tilt pace, but he troubled the batsmen with incredible movement in the air and off the pitch. Sri Lankan opener Nishan Madushka (4) could not handle Afridi’s angle and movement. At that time SL was 6/1. (Airfare and hotel prices hiked 10 times ahead of India vs Pakistan ODI World Cup 2023 match in Ahmedabad)
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In his first spell of eight overs, the 23-year-old struck two more dismissals, first dismissing reliable skipper Dimuth Karunaratne (29) and then Kusal Mendis (12). Sri Lanka’s score became 3/53 and the first three wickets were taken by Shaheen.
The score soon read 54 for four when Naseem Shah dismissed Dinesh Chandimal (1) – who was brilliantly caught at third slip by Babar Azam.
After Afridi’s early lead, Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva stitched together an amazing 131-run partnership for the fifth wicket to get Sri Lanka back.
In the last over before tea, Mathews fell to Abrar Ahmed, who was caught by Sarfaraz at the wicket. His 109-ball 64 included nine fours.
The partnership ended at tea, leaving Sri Lanka with a total of 185/5.
Rain stopped the final session of the day midway. Dhananjay and Sadeera Samarawickrama registered a crucial 57-run partnership for the sixth wicket during the interval.
Coming to stumps, Imam-ul-Haq took a brilliant catch to end the stand and with Sadeera (36) staying at the crease, Sri Lanka ended the day at 242/6, while Dhananjay de Silva still He is unbeaten after scoring 94 runs.
Brief scores: Sri Lanka 242/6 (Dhananjay de Silva 94*, Angelo Mathews 64; Shaheen Afridi 3-63) v Pakistan.