Sri Lanka reached stumps on day one of the third Test against Pakistan on 220 for five, enduring a difficult day in Sharjah as the visitors wanted to get off to a good start on their way to a series victory.
Leading the three-game series one-nil, Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat on the slow deck. They handed a debut to Dilruwan Perera, while Pakistan called upon Mohammad Talha, Azhar Ali and Abdur Rehman.
The first session saw Sri Lanka make just 66 runs, though they lost only the wicket of second Test hero Kaushal Silva. He made 17 before being caught behind of Talha, leaving Dimuth Karunaratne and Kumar Sangakkara to see out the session.
Karunaratne lasted only a few deliveries after lunch before falling to Rehman for 34. He found his outside edge and left Younis Khan to take a regulation catch at first slip. Sangakkara, meanwhile, was on 12.
Once Sanga was joined by fellow veteran and BFF Mahela Jayawardene in the afternoon, the scoring rate picked up rather sharply and Sangakkara quickly (relatively speaking) made his way to a half century.
He only managed 52 though, when he gave his wicket away to Junaid Khan. The paceman pitched one up and Sangakkara lifted it tamely to Khurram Manzoor at mid-on. Jayawardene carried on alongside Dinesh Chandimal, who was still on zero at tea.
Chandimal was bogged down by the hosts and only managed to make 11 runs off 42 balls before being removed by Saeed Ajmal. The spinner had bagged Mahela six runs earlier too, leaving the visitors in a wobble.
The rest of the evening session was negotiated by Prasanna Jayawardene and Angelo Mathews, both of whom batted at strike rates under 50. The skipper was on 24 off 90 balls at the close, while Prasanna was on 28 off 60.
