Lunch Sri Lanka 222 and 132 for 2 (Fernando 64*, Mendis 45*) lead Pakistan 218 (Babar 119, Jayasuriya 5-82) by 136 runs
Fernando had moved to 64 off 123 deliveries by lunch; Mendis was on 45 off 88. Together, the pair had put on 91 for the third wicket, having come together at the start of the third over of the day. Sri Lanka’s take for the session was 96, for the loss of just nightwatchman Kasun Rajitha.
Pakistan’s spinners beat the bat frequently, but the batters refused to follow the balls that took off from a length, and were instead happy to wait for the wayward deliveries, which came too frequently. Mendis, in particular, enjoyed the backfoot strokes, going deep in his crease to cut behind point, or shovel the ball into vacant areas in the midwicket region. Each of his five boundaries came behind square – two off cuts, two off conventional sweeps, and one edge off Hasan Ali past gully.
Fernando, meanwhile, was more comfortable using his feet. He’d shuffle down to find singles either side of the pitch, but would occasionally venture the aggressive strokes too. Roughly halfway through the session, he ran at Yasir Shah and lifted him high, into the sightscreen. A few overs later, he’d come forward to hit another boundary off the same bowler, this time all along the ground.
Where Yasir had been effective in the first innings, as Sri Lanka played their shots against him, this pair was willing to exercise patience, letting plenty go, and defending – usually on the frontfoot – until the shorter ones came. Mohammad Nawaz, who had dismissed Rajitha with the slider in the second over of the day, seemed the likeliest of Pakistan’s bowlers to break through, but by the end of the session, he was being played with comfort as well.
Neither Shaheen Afridi nor Hasan Ali could find any reverse swing yet. Though perhaps they, and Naseem Shah, will go hunting for it after lunch.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is ESPNcricinfo’s Sri Lanka correspondent. @afidelf
Source: ESPN Crickinfo