Debutants Tayyab and Taha Hit Fifties as Pakistan Eye Strong First-Innings Lead

Rawalpindi Stadium – (Staff Reporter/Web Desk) – Sri Lanka secured a slim first-innings lead of 12 runs against Pakistan on the fourth day of the Rawalpindi Test on Thursday. They were bowled out for 446, with debutant Saqib Khan taking seven wickets.

The visitors began Day 4 on 404-4. However, they lost their last six wickets for just 42 runs.

Dhananjaya de Silva top-scored with 167 runs, while captain Kusal Mendis added a fine 119. Saqib Khan was the star for Pakistan with seven wickets. Mohammad Abbas took two wickets, and Razaullah got one.

Sri Lanka had ruled Day 3 with the bat. De Silva and Mendis both scored centuries and showed great patience at the crease.

Mendis became the first Sri Lankan to score a century in his first Test as captain. He took over the role from De Silva before this series.

Their partnership also set a new record for Sri Lanka against Pakistan. It went past the 207-run stand by Thilan Samaraweera and Tillakaratne Dilshan in Lahore in 2009.

De Silva got a lucky break on 38, when Saud Shakeel dropped him off Razaullah. He made the most of it and hit 20 boundaries in his 246-ball knock. It was his 14th Test hundred, his fourth against Pakistan, and his second at this venue.

Mendis reached his 11th Test century with a ramp shot for four off Razaullah. Kamindu Mendis later made his eighth Test fifty before he edged Abbas to wicketkeeper Ghazi Ghori. That left Sri Lanka at 155-4.

The second Test will also be played in Rawalpindi, starting on November 17. It was moved from Lahore because of poor weather.