Sri Lanka vs. Pakistan, 3rd Test, Day 1: Highlights, Scorecard, Report

Honours were even after the first day of the third Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Pallekele, as the home side made it to stumps at 272 for 8.

An excellent 130 from Dimuth Karunaratne was the cornerstone of Sri Lanka’s innings, while four wickets for the ever-impressive Yasir Shah kept Pakistan in the hunt.

Pakistan won the toss and had no hesitation in bowling first on a green Pallekele wicket.

Batting was tough early on and Kaushal Silva departed early on to the seam of Rahat Ali.

Batsman	How Out	Runs	Balls
FDM Karunaratne	st †Sarfraz Ahmed b Azhar Ali	130	230
JK Silva	c †Sarfraz Ahmed b Rahat Ali	9	11
WU Tharanga	c Younis Khan b Yasir Shah	46	92
HDRL Thirimanne	c sub (Babar Azam) b Yasir Shah	11	30
AD Mathews*	c sub (Babar Azam) b Yasir Shah	3	12
J Mubarak	st †Sarfraz Ahmed b Yasir Shah	25	63
LD Chandimal†	lbw b Rahat Ali	24	41
KTGD Prasad	c Yasir Shah b Azhar Ali	0	1
PHT Kaushal	not out	17	30
RAS Lakmal	not out	1	6
Extras	(lb 3, w 3)	6
Total	(8 wickets; 86 overs)	272
Bowler	Overs	Maidens	Runs	Wickets
Rahat Ali	19	2	74	2
Ehsan Adil	14	3	37	0
Imran Khan	15	3	46	0
Yasir Shah	31	4	77	4
Azhar Ali	7	0	35	2

That, though, was the only breakthrough of the morning session, as Karunaratne and Upul Tharanga batted with watchful confidence.

Sri Lanka reached lunch in a strong position at 86 for 1, but the heart was ripped out of their middle order by the leg-spin of Yasir.

Sanka Gayashan/Associated Press

Bowling with superb control and accuracy, he claimed three wickets in the afternoon session.

Tharanga attempted to break the shackles, but his drive deflected off the keeper to Younis Khan at slip.

Lahiru Thirimanne and Angelo Mathews played shots they will not look back on with fondness, as both picked out sub fielder Babar Azam at mid-on.

"

Now the Captain goes... The same way as Thiri... SL losing their way here #SLvPAK Poor decisions by the batsmen

— Russel Arnold (@RusselArnold69) July 3, 2015"

While wickets fell around him, Karunaratne stood firm, and he brought up his second Test century midway through the evening session.

Karunaratne had found an ally in Jehan Mubarak, but he became Yasir’s fourth victim when charging down the crease and being stumped by Sarfraz Ahmed.

Yasir was the scourge of Sri Lanka in the first two Tests of the series, and he carried the momentum into the third meeting.

"

Yasir Shah 58* wkts in10th Test is now the most successful leggie in Test history! Aussie Clarrie Grimmett had 57 wkts in his 10th#SLvPak

— Cricket Score (@BCCI_Tv) July 3, 2015"

It looked like Karunaratne would bat Sri Lanka into a position of real authority, but he fell to the part-time spin of Azhar Ali, who produced a superb googly to draw the batsman out of his crease and create the stumping chance.

One ball later, Sri Lanka were seven down as Dhammika Prasad slapped a rank long hop to Yasir at square leg.

Dinesh Chandimal attempted a counter-attack and had moved to 24 when he was given out lbw on DRS to Rahat Ali.

Tharindu Kaushal and Suranga Lakmal took Sri Lanka through to stumps, but they are likely to face a stern examination in the morning on Day 2.