Silva, Matthews put Sri Lanka in comfort against Pakistan following early strikes by Shaheen (1st Test, Day 1, Stumps)
Jul 16, 2023
Galle [Sri Lanka], July 16 : Batters Dhananjaya de Silva and Angelo Matthews led the rescue act for Sri Lanka after Pakistan's star pacer Shaheen Afridi picked up early wickets during the Day 1 of the first Test in Galle on Sunday.
At the time of Stumps, Sri Lanka's score read 242/6 with Dhananjaya de Silva (94*) standing unbeaten at the crease.
After multiple injury setbacks, Shaheen Afridi in just the second over of his return became the 19th bowler from Pakistan to claim 100 wickets in Test cricket.
Afridi was far from firing at full-tilt speeds but troubled the batters with incredible movement in the air and off the pitch.
Sri Lanka opener Nishan Madushka (4) could not handle the angle and movement caused by Afridi. SL was 6/1 at that point.
In his maiden spell of eight overs, the 23-year-old added two more dismissals, first dismissing the reliable skipper Dimuth Karunaratne (29) and then square-up Kusal Mendis (12) for his second. SL sunk to 3/53 and first three wickets were taken by Shaheen.
The score soon became 54 for four when Naseem Shah dismissed Dinesh Chandimal (1) – brilliantly caught in the third slip by Babar Azam.
Following Afridi's early gains, Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva created an amazing 131-run stand for the fifth wicket to drive Sri Lanka's comeback.
Mathews fell to Abrar Ahmed in the final over before tea, caught at the wicket by Sarfaraz. His 109-ball innings of 64 runs included nine fours.
On the cusp of tea, the partnership came to an end, bringing Sri Lanka's total to 185/5.
Rain cut short the final session of the day. Dhananjaya and Sadeera Samarawickrama recorded a critical 57-run stand for the sixth wicket on each side of the interval.
With stumps approaching, Imam-ul-Haq grabbed a stunning catch to end the stand and Sadeera's (36) stay at the crease as Sri Lanka finished the day at 242/6, with Dhananjaya de Silva still unbeaten on 94.
Brief score: Sri Lanka 242/6 (Dhananjaya de Silva 94*, Angelo Mathews 64; Shaheen Afridi 3-63) vs Pakistan. .
