Pakistan in charge after bowlers beat Sri Lanka in Colombo

COLOMBO, Jul 24 (Reuters) – Dominant Pakistan took charge of the second Test against Sri Lanka after rocking the hosts in two sessions by a paltry 166 at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground on Monday.

Babar Azam’s side, already leading 1-0 in the two Test series, batted vigorously to further cement their position and finished opening day 145-2.

Opener Abdullah Shafique (74) and Babar (eight) will resume Tuesday hoping to lead Sri Lanka out of the contest with a huge first innings lead.

Earlier, Sri Lanka captain Dimuth Karunaratne had to regret his decision to bat first after winning the toss.

Naseem Shah (3-41) and Shaheen Afridi (1-44) dented Sri Lanka’s first order to leave them reeling at 36-4.

Dhananjaya de Silva was Sri Lanka’s top scorer with a gutsy 57, but only two other teammates managed double figures.

Pakistan were incredibly sharp on the field taking advantage of even half chances, while Shan Masood took out starter Nishan Madushka and bottom line Prabath Jayasuriya with direct kicks.

Pakistan seemed in a rush to score as they came out to bat.

Opener Imam-ul-Haq made six before being caught in a gully, but Shafique combined in a quick 108-run partnership with Masood (51) to steady the boat.

Asitha Fernando claimed her second wicket when Masood missed her shot and Pakistan threatened to overturn Sri Lanka’s total when bad light halted play.

Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Edited by Ken Ferris

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