RAWALPINDI – Pakistan and Sri Lanka settled for a draw in the first Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday, after the hosts declared their second innings at 284-8 in 84.5 overs, building an overall lead of 272 runs on the final day.
Saud Shakeel narrowly missed his fifth Test century, dismissed for 97 as Pakistan consolidated before the two sides agreed to end the match. Lahiru Kumara bowled the left-hander, who had faced 210 deliveries and hit seven boundaries. Razaullah stayed unbeaten at the other end.
In the second session, Shakeel and Ghazi Ghori added 92 runs to push the lead past 200. Shakeel reached his 13th Test fifty, while Ghori made 35 off 69 balls, including three boundaries, before Milan Rathnayake removed him. Arafat Minhas then joined Shakeel in a 44-run stand that carried Pakistan beyond 250, until Dhananjaya de Silva dismissed Minhas for 16 off 29 deliveries, which included three boundaries.
Pakistan had begun the day on 57-1, 45 runs ahead, but lost early wickets. Kumara dismissed Azan Awais for 22, and Asitha Fernando got Mohammad Taha for 24. Babar Azam and Shakeel put on 50 together, but Rathnayake then dismissed Babar for 34 and Salman Ali Agha for 13, leaving Pakistan at 125-5.
How the match unfolded
Pakistan batted first and declared at 434-9, with five half-centuries, three of them from debutants. Shakeel top-scored with 93 off 199 balls, Tayyab Arif made 57 off 51, Minhas 52 off 72, Taha 51 off 105, and captain Babar 50 off 58.
Sri Lanka slipped to 65-3 in reply, but Kamindu Mendis scored 58 and added 90 with de Silva. De Silva and captain Kusal Mendis then shared a 249-run partnership, with both scoring centuries. Pakistan fought back on the fourth morning to bowl the visitors out for 446, giving Sri Lanka a 12-run first-innings lead.
Debutant Saqib Khan was the pick of the bowlers with 7-130, taking the wickets of de Silva (167), Kusal (119) and three lower-order batters. Mohammad Abbas took two wickets and Razaullah one.
