Test cricket yesterday made its long-awaited return to Pakistan after a deadly attack in 2009, with the home team led by fast bowler Naseem Shah dominating Sri Lanka.
Naseem, who is just 16, grabbed 2-51 on the opening day of the first Test, which marked a momentous occasion in Pakistan cricket at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Sri Lanka won the toss and batted to close the day at a precarious 202-5 after bad light stopped play 20.5 overs early.
Photo: AP
At the close, Dhananjaya de Silva was unbeaten on 38 and Niroshan Dickwella not out 11, as Sri Lanka spoiled a good 96-run start given by skipper Dimuth Karunaratne (59) and Oshada Fernando (40).
Pakistan struggled for wickets in the first session, as Sri Lanka reached 89-0 at lunch.
Shaheen Shah Afridi trapped Sri Lankan skipper Karunaratne leg before wicket soon after lunch to trigger a collapse that saw the visitors lose four wickets within just 31 runs in the post-lunch session.
Karunaratne hit nine boundaries in his 110-ball knock. Naseem then had Fernando caught at slip for 40, an innings laced with six boundaries and a six.
It was Naseem’s first Test wicket after he came away empty-handed from his debut in Brisbane against Australia last month.
He also had Angelo Mathews caught in the slips for 31. Mathews added 62 runs for the fifth wicket with De Silva.
Usman Shinwari also claimed his first wicket when Kusal Mendis edged him to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan for 10, while Mohammad Abbas bowled Dinesh Chandimal for 2.
Pakistan, who in a surprise decision left out spinner Yasir Shah, struggled for a breakthrough in the first session.
Naseem was the standout bowler in the morning as he generated pace, hitting Karunaratne on the helmet in the 19th over.
Sri Lankan skipper, then on 42, fell down, but showed no further signs of discomfort, hitting Shaheen Shah Afridi for his eighth boundary to reach his 24th Test fifty.
About 8,000 fans chanted slogans and sang national songs as home team captain Azhar Ali tossed the coin to open proceedings.
Sri Lanka are on the first Test tour of Pakistan since a gun-and-rocket attack in March 2009 killed eight people and wounded visiting players and officials, plunging Pakistan into sporting isolation.
With foreign teams refusing to visit, Pakistan have since played their “home” fixtures in the United Arab Emirates.
Their current team are playing their first Test on home soil.
As security has improved, Pakistan has gradually revived international cricket at home, with limited-overs matches against Zimbabwe, World XI, the West Indies and Sri Lanka over the past four years.
“Of course, a historic day in Pakistan cricket and we all are excited,” Azhar said. “We want to make this occasion memorable by winning.”
The second Test starts in Karachi on Thursday next week.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
‘TOUGH TO BREATHE’: Tunisian three-time Grand Slam finalist Ons Jabeur suffered an asthma attack in her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Colombia’s Camila Osorio Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei yesterday cruised into the second round of the women’s doubles at the Australian Open, while Iga Swiatek romped into a third-round women’s singles showdown with Emma Raducanu and Taylor Fritz was just as emphatic in his pursuit of a maiden Grand Slam title. Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, the third seeds, defeated Slovakia’s Tereza Mihalikova and Olivia Nicholls of Britain 7-5, 6-2 in 90 minutes in Melbourne. Ostapenko and Hsieh — who won the women’s doubles and mixed doubles at the Australian Open last year — hit 25 winners and converted five of nine break points to set
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
Dubbed a “motorway for cyclists” where avid amateurs can chase Tadej Pogacar up mountains teeming with the highest concentration of professional cyclists per square kilometer in the world, Spain’s Costa Blanca has forged a new reputation for itself in the past few years. Long known as the ideal summer destination for those in search of sun, sea and sand, the stretch of coast between Valencia and Alicante now has a winter vocation too. During the season break in December and January, the region experiences an invasion of cyclists. Star names such as three-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, Remco Evenepoel and Julian Alaphilippe