The rain-ravaged first Test in Rawalpindi was drawn. Second Test is being played at National Stadium Karachi. Pakistan are still trailing by 23 runs with 10 wickets remaining.
An eventful day of cricket during second Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka at National Stadium Karachi came to an end with home side's opners responded with an unbeaten 57-run stand of 50 runs at stumps on day two. In reply to Sri Lanka 80-run lead, Shan Masood (21) and Abid Ali (32) see off over an hour of play without losing any wicket to open up the game, that can go either way.
Pakistan, who stand at eight position in International Cricket Council's (ICC) Test championship, bowled Sri Lanka out for 271 runs on Friday. Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled superbly to claim his first five-wicket haul giving away 77-runs.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Abbas was in fine rythm as well as he bagged four wickets for 55.
From the visitors, Dinesh Chandimal hit a steady half-century to give Sri Lanka a crucial lead over the hosts.
The former skipper scored 74 — his 18th Test fifty — as Sri Lanka reached 271 in reply to Pakistan´s first innings total of 191 all out.
Dilruwan Perera played a superb hand of 48. With his team wobbling at 80-5 in the morning, Chandimal built partnerships of 67 with Dhananjaya de Silva (32) for the sixth wicket, 37 for the seventh wicket with Niroshan Dickwella (21) and then another 51 with Perera.
Chandimal was finally dismissed by part-time spinner Haris Sohail, caught at backward point after he mistimed a cut. He hit ten boundaries in his 143-ball knock.
The extended two-and-a-half hour first session belonged to Pakistan who took three early wickets after Sri Lanka resumed at 64-3.
Abbas had nightwatchman Lasith Embuldeniya caught in the slip for 13 before lanky left-armer Afridi dismissed Angelo Mathews, also for 13. De Silva, who scored a century in the first Test, batted with grit to frustrate Pakistan and take Sri Lanka to 170-6 at lunch.
Afridi broke the stand by luring De Silva into hooking straight into the hands of deep square-leg fielder Abbas, who held a running catch.
The Test series — part of the ongoing World Test championship — is the first in Pakistan since 2009. The rain-ravaged first Test in Rawalpindi was drawn.