LunchSri Lanka 61 for 3 (Karunaratne 32*, Shah 2-18) v Pakistan
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Upon returning to Test cricket, Kaushal Silva and Lahiru Thirimanne provided reminders of why they had been dropped in the first place, before Kusal Mendis was also dismissed in the last over before lunch. Sri Lanka’s batsmen had no one to blame but themselves. The Abu Dhabi pitch was green tinged, but provided no substantial assistance to Pakistan’s quicks, nor to legspinner Yasir Shah. Yet, there the visitors were, 61 for 3 at the break.
Though Pakistan marked the beginning of the post-Misbah era by selecting a non-Misbah team – only one spinner in harness – the attack that did take the field paid homage to the Misbah-era bowling ethos. Once it was clear there was to be no drastic seam movement, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Abbas, and later, Hasan Ali, all began plugging patiently away in the channel. Occasionall, a ball would dart in or out, but rarely did this create a chance. Silva, as ever, was content to let these fly through to the keeper. Dimuth Karunaratne played at more balls, but was also incredibly restrained. In fact, the entire session would yield only two boundaries. The only intentional among these was a well-placed cut from Karunaratne, who was in any case careful not to over-hit that ball from Amir.
More to follow…
Source: ESPN Crickinfo