RAWALPINDI: Saud Shakeel was within sight of his first test century in two years as Pakistan progressed to 390-6 against Sri Lanka at lunch on Day 2 of the first cricket test.
Sri Lanka's four-pronged pace attack took the sole wicket of Ghazi Ghori with the second new ball in the morning session, with Pakistan adding 109 runs to its overnight 281-5.
Shakeel was unbeaten on 91 off 192 balls, with nine boundaries, while Arafat Minhas was unbeaten 27 on debut, showing plenty of aggression early on with four boundaries and a pulled six off Lahiru Kumara (0-104).
Asitha Fernando has picked up 2-87 and Dilshan Madushanka took 2-97 on a greenish wicket which had lured captain Sri Lanka Kusal Mendis to bowl first after winning the toss.
Wicketkeeper-batter Ghori missed out on his maiden test half-century and fell for 48 when he dabbed left-arm seamer Madushanka to Pasindu Sooriyabandara at gully in a session dominated by the grit of left-hander Shakeel.
Ghori shared a partnership of 96 runs with Shakeel, and Sri Lanka had to wait until the ninth over with the second new ball to get the breakthrough when Sooriyabandara took a spectacular two-handed low catch.
Shakeel, who scored his last test hundred against England here in 2024, rotated the strike and Sri Lankan pacers failed to hit the right line and lengths.
Minhas got his first runs through two square cut boundaries against Milan Rathnayake — the first one grazing the fingers of leaping Sooriyabandara at gully — as he added 41 runs with Shakeel.
Tayyab Arif and Mohammad Taha, the two top-order batters on debut, scored half-centuries on Day 1. Pakistan also awarded a test debut to fast bowler Saqib Khan as the home team aimed to beef up its pool of cricketers for the next World Test Championship cycle.
Last-place Pakistan has won only two of the nine matches in this WTC cycle that included its chaotic 3-0 loss in England in the last series and a 2-0 drubbing at the hands of Bangladesh.
Sri Lanka, ranked No. 7 in the WTC standings, has been in Pakistan for more than a month, losing the T20 series 2-1 and the final of ODI tri-series to Pakistan.
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