Sri Lanka take upper hand against Pakistan

Skipper Dinesh Chandimal and Dimuth Karunaratne run between the wickets in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

Sri Lanka managed 227 runs for the loss of four wickets against Pakistan on Day One of the first Test match at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat. By stumps, opener Dimuth Karunaratne (93) and skipper Dinesh Chandimal (60) have ensured a slight edge going into the second day against a Pakistani attack shouldered heavily by spinner Yasir Shah, who took two wickets on the day.
The grass on the pitch seemed to have influenced the squad selection as Pakistan included just one spinner against three by Sri Lanka, who will be making last use of the wicket.
Sri Lanka started the proceedings well. Openers Kaushal Silva and Karunaratne watchfully negated the initial spells as pacers Mohammad Abbas and Mohammad Amir kept asking questions with a tight line and length. It was a slow but resolute start and Lankan openers made their way to drinks break with 31 runs from 15 overs.
The slight advantage that Lankans had built was razed as young Hasan Ali packed Silva back for 12 runs. The opener had left a fiery delivery from Ali but failed to keep his bat out as the ball took the bottom edge onto the stumps.
Lankan were further pushed onto the back foot as wily Yasir foxed new batsman Lahiru Thirimanne in front of wicket. It was a needless slog, in only his seventh ball, by the comeback man. Thirimanne, who was playing first Test after Lords match in June 2016, left without disturbing the scoreboard.
And Pakistan, with back-to-back wickets, had pegged back Lanka to 35 for two in 18 overs.
Next up, Kusal Mendis joined Karunaratne and knitted a small partnership to hit 61 by the end of 28 overs. And just when Lankans were waiting for lunch, Shah struck again. The spinner induced an edge out of Mendis and the ball snuggled into hands of keeper Sarfraz Ahmed.
And amid the wickets, Karunaratne got to his 50. The opener continued to hold ground against bowlers hunting in packs. Amir, Abbas and Ali bended their backs and maintained pressure from one end and at the other Yasir, the warhorse, bowled 18 overs unchanged. Bowlers, with good line, plugged runs and kept Dinesh Chandimal on a tight leash. Lanka got to 100 by 48th over.
Chandimal, keeping a good temperament, began to flourish. There was a classy shot, where Chandimal created a boundary from a Hasan Ali's yorker.
The duo scripted a mini-revival with Karunaratne orchestrating the proceedings.
Pakistan gave Yasir a break with Haris Sohail, Shan Masood and Asad Shafiq stepping in. Part-timers and spread-out field helped Lankan cause. And at Tea, the batsmen shared 82-run partnership to take Lanka to 143 runs.
After the break too, Yasir had to anchor the attack from one end again. Pakistan had deployed seven bowlers by now. And Karunaratne-Chandimal got to their 100-run partnership from 235 balls.
Just when Sri Lanka looked to be settling in, a wicket fell, a gift at that. Karunaratne struck to mid-on and took off but Chandimal stood rooted to his crease. Both the batsmen ended up in the same crease and Sohail threw to Sarfraz, who crashed the stumps to send Karunaratne back. Chandimal stood apologetically as Karunaratne walked back seven short of a deserving century.
Chandimal made amends with a half-century and with Niroshan Dickwella got to 50-run partnership from 98 balls.
The sessions in the day were evenly dominated by both teams. The day saw some spirited bowling attack from Pakistan and Lankans bat with good temperament. The match is evenly-poised and a slowing pitch will make things interesting.
Visitors on top
Sri Lanka 1st innings
D. Karunaratne run out               93
K. Silva b Hasan                     12
L. Thirimanne lbw b Shah              0
K. Mendis c Ahmed b Shah             10
D. Chandimal not out                 60
N. Dickwella not out                 42
Extras: (lb8, nb2)                   10
Total: (for four wkts, 90 overs)    227
To bat: D. Perera, R. Herath, S. Lakmal, L. Sundakan, N. Pradeep
Fall: 1-34, 2-35, 3-61, 4-161
Bowling: Amir 17-2-39-0, Abbas 16-0-43-0 (1nb), Shah 34-8-59-2, Hasan 17-3-58-1 (1nb), Masood 1-1-0-0, Sohail 4-0-14-0, Shafiq 1-0-6-0
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Shan Masood, Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas
Toss: Sri Lanka
Umpires: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)and Nigel Llong (ENG)
TV umpire: Ahsan Raza (PAK)
ICC match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)