Pakistan was in trouble at 101-5 on the second day of the first Test because of rain, but Saud Shakeel and Agha Salman batted for 100 without getting out.
In answer to Sri Lanka’s 311 runs, Pakistan got to 221-5 before rain stopped the game. The visitors were still behind by 91 runs.
Prabath Jayasuriya, a left-handed spin bowler for Sri Lanka, took three wickets, including that of the team’s captain, Babar Azam.
Sri Lankan opener Dhananjaya de Silva had made 122 runs earlier, giving the home team a good score.
Pakistan’s response was shaky until Shakeel, who was on 69 runs, and Salman, who was on 61 runs, put together 120 runs to settle the game and stop the Sri Lankan spinners.
Shakeel and Salman, who batted with their left and right hands, used the right amount of caution and drive, with 12 fours and a six between them.
The pair handled the spinners with maturity by using their feet to get to where the ball was pitched. Pakistan scored at a rate of almost five runs per over.
When Kasun Rajitha’s fast bowler got Imam-ul-Haq out for one and Jayasuriya’s got Abdullah Shafique out for 19, Sri Lanka started off with a bang.
Shan Masood hit back with 39 runs off 30 balls, but he was out lbw to Ramesh Mendis. The on-field judge didn’t give Mendis the wicket, but Sri Lanka was able to win the review.
Azam was out when the ball hit him on the inside of his pads and looped to short leg, where wicketkeeper Sadeera Samarawickrama caught it.
De Silva had moved up from his overnight score of 94 to score his 10th century in his 50th Test match. This helped Sri Lanka’s chances, which were looking bad at 54-4 on Sunday.
Sri Lanka was bowled out when pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, another fast bowler named Naseem Shah, and leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed all got three wickets. At that point, lunch was called.
The second day’s play started early, and the times for each of the three rounds were changed. It didn’t take long for de Silva to reach his hundred off Shaheen.
De Silva, who hit 12 fours and 3 sixes, helped the lower order score runs before he was finally out by Naseem, who hit him twice with the second new ball.