Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 1st Test Day 2: Silva powers Lanka to 178-3

Kaushal Silva stayed on course for his second Test hundred after featuring in a century-plus stand with Kumar Sangakkara to help Sri Lanka to 178 for three on day two of the first Test against Pakistan at Galle on Thursday.

Dropped early in the morning session, the right-handed opener struck an unbeaten 80 as he and experienced Sangakkara (50) added 112 runs for the second wicket on a day when rain and bad light allowed only 64 overs of play.

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews was batting on 10 at the other end when stumps were drawn.

After rain had washed out nearly four sessions, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and decided to bowl, trusting his bowlers to exploit the freshness of the pitch and with a bit more luck and discipline, the visitors could have dismissed both the openers by the eighth over.

Left-arm paceman Wahab Riaz, whose fiery spell against Australian Shane Watson was one of the highlights of this year's World Cup, had Dimuth Karunaratne caught in the slip in his first over but it turned out to be a no-ball.

More misery awaited Riaz in his fourth over when Silva cut a delivery to backward point where Yasir Shah not only grassed it but also hurt himself, requiring medical attention.

Riaz, whose early struggle for rhythm was evident in the three no-balls he sent down in his first six overs apart from being warned for running onto the pitch, eventually got a modicum of revenge in his fifth over after changing ends.

The bowler hurried Karunaratne (21) into a pull shot with a sharp, rising delivery and Sarfraz Ahmed collected the edge behind the stumps.

Sangakkara hit the first ball he faced from Riaz to the boundary and was peppered with a barrage of short balls in the bowler's next over.

Silva hit Riaz for two boundaries in an over before taking two runs off Shah to bring up his patient fifty in 122 balls.

Sangakkara charged out to hit left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar for the first six of the match and duly brought up his 52nd test fifty but fell soon after, edging Riaz to slip.

Next man in Lahiru Thirimanne (eight) also fell cheaply as Sri Lanka, cruising at 142 for one, slumped to 154 for three before Silva and Mathews batted through the remaining overs without further damage.

Hafeez strikes as Thirimanne holes out to mid-on. SL 154-3, 55.5 overs.

Lahiru Thirimanne c Zulfiqar Babar b Mohammad Hafeez 8 (17b 1x4 0x6)

Wahab strikes finding the outside edge of Sangakkara which is pocketed safely by Younis at slip. SL 142-2, 49.3 overs.

Kumar Sangakkara c Younis Khan b Wahab Riaz 50 (106b 2x4 1x6)

Tea

Kaushal Silva capitalised on an early reprieve to hit his eighth Test fifty and help Sri Lanka to 123 for one at tea on day two of the first Test against Pakistan at Galle on Thursday.

Dropped on six in the morning session, the right-handed opener was batting on 52 at the break with Kumar Sangakkara (41) at the other end with the duo having added 93 runs for the flourishing second wicket stand.

After rain had washed out nearly four sessions, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and decided to bowl, trusting his bowlers to exploit the freshness of the pitch and try and get the hosts out cheaply.

With a bit more luck and discipline, the visitors, especially paceman Wahab Riaz, could have at least dismissed both the openers by the eighth over.

The left-arm paceman, whose fiery spell against Australian Shane Watson was one of the highlights of this year's World Cup, had Karunaratne caught in the slip in his first over but it turned out to be a no-ball.

More misery awaited Riaz in his fourth over when Silva cut a delivery to backward point where Yasir Shah not only grassed it but also managed to hurt himself, requiring medical attention.

Riaz, whose struggle for rhythm was evident in the three no-balls he sent down in his six overs apart from being warned for running onto the pitch, eventually got a modicum of revenge in his fifth over after changing ends.

The paceman, who turns 30 this month, hurried Karunaratne (21) into a pull shot with a sharp, rising delivery and Sarfraz Ahmed collected the edge behind the stumps.

Experienced Sangakkara hit the first ball he faced from Riaz to the boundary and was peppered with a barrage of short balls in the bowler's next over.

It turned out to be a perfect second session for Sri Lanka who added 83 runs without losing a wicket to consolidate their position.

Silva opened up after the break, hitting Riaz for two boundaries in an over before taking two runs off Shah to bring up his patient fifty in 122 balls.

Sangakkara charged out to hit left-arm spinner Zulfiqur Babar for the first six of the match and was looked poised for his 52nd test fifty.

Lunch

Sri Lanka lost opener Dimuth Karunaratne and rode their luck to reach 40 for one at lunch on day two of the first test against Pakistan at Galle on Thursday.

Kaushal Silva was batting on eight with Kumar Sangakkara on four at the end of a rain-truncated 16-over session at the Galle International Stadium.

After rain had washed out nearly four sessions, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and decided to bowl, trusting his bowlers to exploit the freshness of the pitch and try and get the hosts out cheaply.

With a bit more luck and discipline, the visitors, especially paceman Wahab Riaz, could have at least dismissed both the openers by the eighth over.

The left-arm paceman, whose fiery spell against Australian Shane Watson was one of the highlights of this year's World Cup, had Karunaratne caught in the slip in his first over but it turned out to be a no-ball.

More misery awaited Riaz in his fourth over when Silva cut a delivery to backward point where Yasir Shah not only grassed it but also managed to hurt himself, requiring medical attention.

Riaz, whose struggle for rhythm was evident in the three no-balls he sent down in his six overs apart from being warned for running onto the pitch, eventually got a modicum of revenge in his fifth over after changing ends.

The paceman, who turns 30 this month, hurried Karunaratne (21) into a pull shot with a sharp, rising delivery and Sarfraz Ahmed collected the edge behind the stumps.

Sangakkara hit the first ball he faced from Riaz to the boundary and was peppered with a barrage of short balls in the bowler's next over.

Toss

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq asked Sri Lanka to bat first after rain, which had wiped out the entire opening day's play, delayed the toss on day two of the first test at Galle on Thursday.

"It looks like a batting track but we've already lost a day and a quarter. I'm also not sure of what's coming tomorrow," Misbah said after winning toss.

"Looking forward, if we can get them out early in the first innings and then see what the total is. Also there is always something on a fresh pitch on the first day of a test match."

His counterpart Angelo Mathews was rather happy getting what he wanted despite losing the toss.

"I was going to bat first. The wicket looks pretty dry, it would remain same for the first couple of days. I'm very happy to bat first," said Mathews, who would bat at number five following the retirement of Mahela Jayawardene.

Teams:

Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne, Kaushal Silva, Kumar Sangakkara, Dinesh Chandimal, Lahiru Thirimanne, Angelo Mathews (captain), Kithuruwan Vithanage, Rangana Herath, Dilruwan Perera, Dhammika Prasad, Nuwan Pradeep

Pakistan: Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Azhar Ali, Younus Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (captain), Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz, Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar, Junaid Khan  

Delay

Inclement weather once again delayed the start of play in the first Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Galle on Thursday.

The entire first day's play was abandoned Wednesday without a ball being bowled and the toss is yet to take place.

Rain had ceased over the Galle International Stadium on Thursday, but the entire field remained covered at the scheduled time for the toss of 9.15 am (0345 GMT) because more bad weather was expected.

Rain has been forecast in the southern coastal town on all five days of the match.

Sri Lanka and Pakistan are due to play three Tests, followed by five one-day internationals and two Twenty20 matches.

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