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Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 1st Test day 1: Pakistan 281-5 after four fifties

Two debutants and Babar Azam hit fifties as Pakistan reached 281-5 on day one in Rawalpindi before bad light. Saud Shakeel is 57 not out. What comes next.

By Obaid Ul Rehman JoyiaEdited by Waqar Ul Khaf, Chief Editor
2 min read
A Pakistan batter playing a shot in a Test match
Image: ESPNcricinfo

Pakistan’s new-look Test side had a very good first day. After Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bowl in Rawalpindi on Monday, 9 November, Pakistan reached 281 for 5 in 67.2 overs before bad light ended play early, at 4:19 PM. Four batters made fifties, and two of them were playing their first Test.

Saud Shakeel is 57 not out off 112 balls, with Ghazi Ghori on 7. Asitha Fernando was Sri Lanka’s best bowler with 2 for 64.

Two debut fifties

The day belonged to the new faces. Mohammad Tayyab Arif made 57 off just 51 balls on debut, a fast start that set the tone after the openers put on 86. BBC Urdu’s report on the day led with a line about Aitchison College, Imran Khan’s old school, while praising the young batters’ fifties on what it called a “difficult wicket” in Rawalpindi.

Mohammad Taha, the other debutant, took the opposite route: 51 off 105 balls, the patient innings that let others play around him.

Captain Babar Azam made 50 off 58 before falling at 159 for 3. After a week of questions about his role in selection, which he answered at his press conference before the Test, a fluent fifty was the right reply.

How the wickets fell

  • 1-86: Azan Awais, 30 (50 balls)
  • 2-90: Tayyab Arif, 57 (51)
  • 3-159: Babar Azam, 50 (58)
  • 4-227: Mohammad Taha, 51 (105)
  • 5-253: Salman Ali Agha, 16 (22)

The one worry is that cluster at 86 and 90, two quick wickets that gave Sri Lanka a way back in. Shakeel then did what he does best, batting time, and his stand with Taha took Pakistan past 220.

Sri Lanka’s bowling

Sri Lanka’s attack shared the wickets: Fernando two, and one each for Dilshan Madushanka, Milan Rathnayake and Sonal Dinusha, according to the scorecard. Lahiru Kumara went wicketless. ESPNcricinfo’s match report gave Pakistan the opening day honours.

What to watch on day 2

Rawalpindi pitches often flatten out, so a total of 400 or more would put Sri Lanka under real pressure. That depends on Shakeel batting with the tail, and on how much light the second day gets. November evenings are short in Pindi, so expect an early start to be pushed if the umpires can manage it.

The second Test is in Lahore, where tickets went on sale over the weekend.

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