Pakistan began their short tour of Sri Lanka starting with a two match test series. The series began with the test at Galle with the 2nd test to be played at Colombo. This officially begins the World Test Championship cycle for both the teams. The game began on Sunday as Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat first. The game marked the return of Shaheen Shah Afridi who made a return to test cricket after nearly one year after suffering an injury.
Hasan Ali’s funny antics –
29 year old Hasan Ali last played a test match earlier this year against New Zealand. The right arm pacer was named as the 12th man for the 1st test. Hasan Ali, grabbed the headlines for his funny antics. The Pakistani pacer came out to give water to his team and while going back to the dugout he started running in a peculiar manner. This got the attention of everyone including the commentators, who burst out laughing seeing the funny actions of Hasan Ali.
Part time cricketer full time entertainer = Hassan Ali 🤣🤣#PAKvsSL #BabarAzam𓃵 #earthquake asif rizwan #SeharKhan #SLvsPAK pic.twitter.com/MpSDoZ5e0F
— Ali Arslan (القدس في العيون) (@Aliarslan_18) July 16, 2023
Saud Shakeel steals the show with the bat –
Pakistan had to chase to 312 runs scored by Sri Lanka in their 1st dig in a bid to take the lead. The Pakistan team were struggling at 101/5 with Prabath Jayasuriya spinning a web. That’s when Shakeel and Agha Salman combined to add 177 for the 6th wicket.
Salman was out after scoring 83 off 113 balls with 9 fours and a six. Saud Shakeel kept going as he was not out on 193 at the time of writing. Shakeel till that point had faced 328 balls with 18 fours, as Pakistan led by 123 runs.
De Silva ton helps Sri Lanka to 312 –
Opting to bat first, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 312 runs on day two of the 1st test. The lead scorer was Dhananjaya De Silva who scored 122 off 214 balls with 12 fours and 3 sixes. Former skipper Angelo Mathews supported him with 64 off 109 balls with 9 fours. Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed picked 3 wickets each.