RAWALPINDI:Pakistan made a promising start to the first Test against Sri Lanka, reaching 281-5 at stumps on the opening day on Monday, with four batters registering half-centuries, including debutants Tayyab Arif and Mohammad Taha.
Captain Babar Azam, Tayyab, Taha and Saud Shakeel all scored fifties as Pakistan negotiated a lively opening spell before recovering from a series of setbacks to finish the day in a position of relative strength at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Saud remained unbeaten on 57, with debutant Ghazi Ghori on seven, when bad light forced an early close, 15 minutes before the scheduled end of play.
Sri Lanka’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss, encouraged by the grass covering the surface, did not produce the early breakthroughs they had hoped for.
Their pace attack, comprising four seamers and no frontline spinner, struggled to maintain consistent pressure during the opening session, allowing Pakistan to make a brisk start.
Tayyab, playing his maiden Test, was particularly impressive, displaying composure and an attacking instinct in an opening partnership of 86 with Azan Awais.
The 20-year-old struck nine boundaries and a six in his 51-ball 57, punishing loose deliveries and showing little sign of nerves on his international debut.
Azan contributed 30 before Milan Rathnayaka provided Sri Lanka with their first breakthrough in the 16th over, having the opener caught behind by wicket-keeper Kusal Mendis.
Tayyab followed shortly afterwards, edging Asitha Fernando to Mendis to leave Pakistan at90-2.
The two quick wickets brought Babar and Taha together, with the pair rebuilding the innings through a measured partnership. Babar appeared in fluent touch, while Taha adopted a more cautious approach, concentrating on preserving his wicket and rotating the strike.
The Pakistan captain accelerated after the interval, taking advantage of Dilshan Madushanka’s wayward opening over after lunch to collect three successive boundaries through the off side.
The third boundary brought up his half-century, raising hopes that he would convert the start into a substantial innings.
However, those hopes were shortlived. Madushanka responded with amuch-improved delivery in the following over, finding movement away from the right-hander.
Babar, attempting to drive with hard hands, edged the ball through to Mendis to depart for 50 off 58 deliveries, having struck seven fours.
The dismissal extended Babar’s wait for a Test century to 41 innings. His last three-figure score came against New Zealand in Karachi in December 2022.
With Pakistan at 159-3, Taha and Saud took responsibility for stabilising the innings. The pair negotiated the remainder of the second session without further damage, but Sri Lanka struck twice in the first halfhour after tea.
Taha, who had reached a commendable 51, eventually fell attempting to accelerate against Sonal Dinusha, skying a delivery to Dhananjaya de Silva.
His innings was a significant contribution on debut, providing Pakistan with stability in the middle order after the early dismissals.
Taha later admitted that he was disappointed not to make more of his opportunity.
‘It is everyone’s wish to score a hundred on debut, but I am disappointed because I was set and could have taken my innings further, which would have helped the team,’ he said during the post-day press conference.
The right-hander credited Babar and the coaching staff for their encouragement, explaining that he had been advised to trust the methods that had served him well in domestic cricket.
‘I tried to keep things simple and play the way I have been playing in domestic cricket. There was some nervousness initially because it was my first match, but batting alongside Babar helped me a lot. He guided me through several things,’ Taha said.
Salman Ali Agha’s stay was evenshorter. He made 16 before Fernando found extra bounce, producing an edge that Mendis collected for his fourth catch of the innings.
Saud, however, remained composed amid the regular fall of wickets, ensuring Pakistan did not surrender the advantage they had established earlier in the day.
His unbeaten 57 will be particularly important when play resumes on Tuesday, with Arafat Minhas, another debutant, still to come.
Taha believes Pakistan need to extend their first-innings total beyond 400 to put Sri Lanka under pressure, although he acknowledged that the surface was not straightforward for newcomers.
‘Once a batter gets settled, things become a little easier, but it is not an easy pitch for someone coming in fresh. In my opinion, if we can score more than 400 in the first innings, it would be a good total,’ he said.
MISSED OPPORTUNITIES Sri Lanka’s bowling coach Ryan van Niekerk conceded that his side had missed opportunities, particularly during the first session, when Pakistan scored freely against the new ball.
‘Probably not satisfied. When you win the toss and bowl first with the four seamers we have, you would expect a couple more wickets. It was tough to contain the run rate once the first session had gone by, but the group did a good job of pulling things back towards the end,’ he said.
Van Niekerk defended the decision to field four fast bowlers, saying the amount of grass on the surface had encouraged Sri Lanka to target early breakthroughs against an inexperienced Pakistan batting line-up.
He also pointed to the hard nature of the surface beneath the grass, which, in his assessment, reduced the assistance available to the seamers with the new ball.
‘The ball came on to the bat beautifully, and as it got older, the wicket started playing up a little more. I think it is a really good cricket wicket,’ he said, adding that the surface was unlikely to offer substantial assistance to spinners even in the fourth innings.
Van Niekerk estimated that 300 would be around par on the surface and said Sri Lanka would look to make early inroads on the second morning rather than focus on the overall match situation.
Pakistan, meanwhile, will hope Saud can extend his innings and the lower order can build on the platform established by the top and middle order.