Pakistan ‘A’ took major honours on day one in their first unofficial Test against Sri Lanka ‘A’ which started on Sunday in Leicester.
Pakistan ‘A’ skipper Babar Azam won the toss and elected to bowl first and gave the opportunity to his fast-bowlers to exploit the conditions.
The Sri Lankan openers could not make a telling contribution as Madawa Warnapura and Udara Jayasundara fell for 1 and 17 respectively.
Experienced Mahela Udawatte and Roshen Silva added 104 runs for the 3rd wicket before right-arm seamer Hasan Ali took the prized scalp of Udawatte who made a 91-ball 64 which included 11 fours. Silva continued to impress scoring 48 off 105.
Middle-order batsmen, Minod Bhanuka and Sachith Pathirana got crucial starts of 33 and 45 respectively but could not take Sri Lanka ‘A’ over the 300-run mark as the Pakistani bowling attack restricted the Lankans to 299. Hasan Ali was the pick of the bowlers taking 4 for 63 while Mir Hamza and Mohommad Nawaz took 2 wickets apiece.
In reply, the Pakistan ‘A’ openers batted sensibly to score 20 off the remaining 5 overs of the day. At stumps, Pakistan ‘A’ trail Sri Lanka ‘A’ by 279 runs with 10 wickets remaining.
The match will be continued today (4th July) for the second day’s play.
Sri Lanka ‘A’ – 299 all out in 79.5 overs: Mahela Udawatte 64, Roshen Silva 48, Sachith Pathirana 45, Minod Bhanuka 33, Hasan Ali 4/63, Mohommad Nawaz 2/35, Mir Hamza 2/51.
Pakistan ‘A’ – 20 for no loss in 5 overs: Sharjeel Khan 13*.
