1st Test: Sri Lanka fight back but Pakistan dominate opening day - Rediff

Debutants Tayyab Arif and Mohammad Taha struck half-centuries to help Pakistan reach 281-5 against Sri Lanka, with Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel also scoring fifties.IMAGE: Asitha Fernando was the pick of the Sri Lankan bowlers, claiming 2/64 on Day 1 of the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. Photograph: Sri Lanka Cricket/XKey PointsDebutants Tayyab Arif and Mohammad Taha scored 57 and 51 respectively as Pakistan reached 281-5 on the opening day of the first Test.Arifs 51-ball assault, featuring nine fours and a six, helped Pakistan race to 137-2 in the opening session.Babar Azam struck 50 but extended his Test century drought to 41 innings, while Saud Shakeel remained unbeaten on 57.Sri Lanka took three wickets after lunch, with Asitha Fernando claiming 2-64, but bad light ended play after 67.2 overs.• SCORECARDPakistan’s new-look batting line-up made a confident start to the first Test against Sri Lanka, with debutants Tayyab Arif and Mohammad Taha scoring half-centuries on Monday to put the hosts in control on the opening day in Rawalpindi.Arif struck an attacking 57 off 51 balls, while Taha showed patience and composure with 51 off 105 deliveries on a green-tinged pitch.Their efforts, along with half-centuries from Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel, lifted Pakistan to 281-5 before bad light halted play after 67.2 overs.Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis elected to bowl after winning the toss, but Pakistan raced to 137-2 in the first session, with Arif leading the charge.The 20-year-old struck nine fours and a six before falling for his maiden Test half-century. His opening partner Azan Awais made 30 as Sri Lanka claimed two wickets in successive overs. Madushanka Ends Babars StayBabar then took charge with a fluent 50 off 58 balls, including seven fours. He looked comfortable against the pace attack, driving Dilshan Madushanka for three boundaries in the left-arm seamer’s first over after lunch.But Babar fell in Madushanka’s next over, giving Mendis one of his four catches behind the stumps. The dismissal extended his wait for a Test century to 41 innings, with his last coming in December 2022.Taha and Shakeel steadied the innings with a 68-run partnership, adopting a more measured approach against the Sri Lankan attack.Taha, one of four Pakistan debutants, reached 51 before top-edging a slog sweep off part-time spinner Sonal Dinusha to Dhananjaya de Silva.Sri Lanka, who left frontline spinner Prabath Jayasuriya out of the attack, struck again when Asitha Fernando dismissed Salman Ali Agha for 16. Fernando finished the day with 2-64.Shakeel remained unbeaten on 57, keeping Pakistan in a strong position when poor light brought an early close to the day.