Kusal Mendis in action (file photo). Photo: Neb / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Sri Lanka fought back strongly on Day 3 of the 1st Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi, reaching 404 for 4 at stumps on Wednesday. The visitors trail Pakistan by only 30 runs, with six wickets still in hand.
Dhananjaya de Silva led the recovery with an unbeaten 167 from 241 balls, hitting 20 fours. It was his 14th hundred in Test cricket. Captain Kusal Mendis supported him with 117 not out from 188 balls, including 10 fours and four sixes. It was his 11th Test hundred, and his first innings as Sri Lanka’s Test captain.
The two batters shared an unbroken stand of 249 runs for the fifth wicket, the highest fifth-wicket stand by Sri Lanka against Pakistan. Sri Lanka resumed the day on 114 for 3 and reached 221 for 4 at lunch and 348 for 4 at tea, before bad light brought an early end to the day’s play.
Pakistan had declared their first innings on 434 for 9 on the second day, with Saud Shakeel top-scoring with 93. Sri Lanka now need only 30 more runs to wipe out Pakistan’s lead, and the fourth day promises a close contest at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
In other news, the second Test of the series, from 17 to 21 November, has been moved from Lahore to Rawalpindi because of severe smog in Lahore. The dates have not changed. Elsewhere tonight, the third one-day match between New Zealand and India was abandoned because of rain, Perth Scorchers beat Sydney Thunder by four wickets in the Women’s Big Bash League, and Royal Desert Champions beat UAE Bulls by six wickets in the Abu Dhabi T10 League.
