Pakistan debutants score fifties as hosts reach 390-6 against Sri Lanka
Pakistan were 390-6 at lunch on day two of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi. Debutants Tayyab Arif and Mohammad Taha both scored half-centuries on the opening day.
- Pakistan were 390-6 at lunch on day two in Rawalpindi.
- Debutants Tayyab Arif (57) and Mohammad Taha (51) made fifties.
- Saud Shakeel is unbeaten on 91, nine short of a hundred.
Pakistan reached lunch on the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at 390-6 in 99 overs at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Saud Shakeel was unbeaten on 91 and debutant Arafat Minhas on 27.
Sri Lanka won the toss and asked Pakistan to bat first. Pakistan closed the first day at 281-5 after 67.2 overs, with four batters scoring half-centuries.
Four players made their Test debuts for Pakistan in the match: Tayyab Arif, Mohammad Taha, Arafat Minhas and Saqib Khan. Tayyab Arif scored 57 off 51 balls, including nine fours and a six. Mohammad Taha made 51 off 105 balls with six fours.
Tayyab Arif and Azan Awais put on 86 runs for the first wicket, and Azan Awais scored 30. Captain Babar Azam scored 50 off 58 balls and was dismissed by Dilshan Madushanka soon after reaching his fifty. Mohammad Taha fell to Sonal Dinusha, while Salman Agha was dismissed by Asitha Fernando without a big score.
On the second morning Pakistan added 108 runs and lost only one wicket. Ghazi Ghori was out for 48, two short of a first Test fifty, caught by Pasindu Sooriyabandara off Dilshan Madushanka in the 89th over at a team total of 349. He and Saud Shakeel had added 96 for the sixth wicket.
Saud Shakeel, 31, resumed on 57 and faced 192 balls for his 91, hitting nine fours. Business Recorder noted he is nine runs short of his fifth Test hundred. Arafat Minhas has 27 off 49 balls with four fours and a six.
For Sri Lanka, Madushanka and Asitha Fernando have two wickets each, and Milan Rathnayake has one.
Background
khabr.pk reported on 9 November that Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to field in the first of a two-match ICC World Test Championship series. On 7 November we reported that the PCB had added four players to the Test squad, and on 8 November Babar Azam spoke of blending youth and experience. Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by three wickets in the tri-nation ODI final, as we reported on 2 November.
Why it matters for Pakistan
Cricket is followed closely across Pakistan, and the new players in the national side are a major talking point. Fifties from two of four debutants in a home Test at Rawalpindi give fans an early look at the newcomers in a two-match series.
