Opening batter Tayyab Arif and Mohammad Taha made impressive debuts as a new-look Pakistan side reached 281/5 on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka on Monday. Arif made an aggressive 57 off 51 balls, while Taha showed plenty of grit at No. 3 to score 51 off 105 deliveries on a greenish wicket that prompted Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis to bowl first after winning the toss. Captain Babar Azam ‘s flamboyant 50 off 58 balls, featuring seven fours, and Saud Shakeel ‘s unbeaten 57 also gave Pakistan an early advantage before bad light stopped play, with only 67.2 overs possible on the opening day of the two-Test series.
Babar’s half-century was his 144th 50-plus score in international cricket across all three formats and his 70th as Pakistan captain. He is now level with Misbah-ul-Haq for the most 50-plus scores by a Pakistan captain. Babar is the only test batter to average 50 this year (minimum 10 innings)
“But I thought the group of bowlers did a good job of pulling it back towards the end of the day. Pakistan also handed debuts to Arafat Minhas , a spinning all-rounder and standout performer in the recent tri-series ODI tournament, and fast bowler Saqib Khan as the home side looks to strengthen its pool of cricketers for the next World Test Championship cycle. “When you look at the bigger picture, Pakistan are probably slightly ahead on Day 1, but we’re also probably a little short of luck throughout the day. Babar, who has not scored a Test hundred since December 2022, looked at ease against the pace attack, playing his trademark cover drives, including three boundaries off Dilshan Madushanka ‘s first over after lunch as he completed his 35th Test half-century. Taha and Shakeel then settled into a more traditional Test-match approach against the pace attack and shared a 68-run stand before Sri Lanka picked up two wickets in the final session.
“There were 63 balls that beat the bat today,” said Sri Lanka bowling coach Ryan van Niekerk. “It was tough to contain the run rate once the first session had gone by,” van Niekerk said.
