Bowlers put Sri Lanka on top against Pakistan

Karachi: Pakistan's decision to bat after winning the toss backfired as Lahiru Kumara and Lasith Embuldeniya's four-fer bundled out the hosts for a paltry 191 runs in their first innings even as Babar Azam (60) and Asad Shafiq (63) slammed respective half-centuries against Sri Lanka at the National Stadium here on Thursday. In return, the islanders ended the first day at 64/3 with Angelo Mathews (8) and Embuldeniya (3) at the crease.

While Kumara conceded 49 runs, Embuldeniya was a bit expensive as he leaked 71 runs from his 20.3 overs. Apart from them, Vishwa Fernando picked up two wickets for 31 runs.

With the hosts reeling at 65/3 at one stage, it was Babar and Shafiq who rescued their side after sharing a brief 62-run partnership for the fourth wicket. However, after Babar's departure, Shafiq tried to keep the scorers busy but lacked support from the other end as Pakistan's lower middle-order fell like a pack of cards. It was only Babar, Shafiq and Abid Ali (38) who could score in double digits as all other Pakistan batsmen failed to contribute.

In return, Sri Lanka also witnessed a similar tale as they too lost wickets at regular intervals. The visitors lost the wickets of Oshada Fernando (4), Dimuth Karunaratne (25) and Kusal Mendis (13) with just 61 runs on the board and now trail by 127 runs with seven wickets in hand.

For Pakistan, pacer Mohammad Abbas bagged the wickets of Mendis and Karunaratne for 21 runs while Shaheen Afridi accounted for the wicket of Fernando. IANS

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