Sri Lanka batsmen struggled against Yasir Shah yet again in the first day of the third Test match against Pakistan at Pallekele in Kandy.
After losing the wicket of Kaushal Silva early in the day, Upul Tharanga and Dimuth Karunaratne gave Sri Lanka a good start and they were cruising at 105 for the loss of one wicket. But Shah beautifully flighted a ball to Tharanga and he edged it to the first slip where Younis Khan made no mistake.
All of a sudden, the momentum was broken and slowly shifted towards the visitors. Shah kept troubling Thirimanne and Karunaratne until he managed to pick up the former's wicket. Skipper Angelo Mathews too got out while playing a rash shot to Shah.
Sri Lanka were reeling at 137 for the loss of four wickets. Jehan Mubarak and Karunaratne rebuilt the Lankan innings for a while and added 67 runs together. Meanwhile, Karunaratne also got his second Test century against Pakistan on Day 1. He placed his innings beautifully and stayed put on end. He kept on losing partners from the other end, but that did not stop him from scoring runs.
Azhar Ali came out of nowhere and picked up two wickets in two balls to dismiss Karunaratne and Dhammika Prasad. Wicket keeper batsman Dinesh Chandimal too did not last for long. Sri Lanka were almost on the verge of getting bowled out on the first day of the third Test match. They ended at 272 for the loss of eight wickets with Tharindu Kaushal and Suranga Lakmal at the crease.
Pakistan would look to clear up the Lankan tail-enders as early as possible on Day 2. Shah has a chance to pick yet another five-for in this series. The way he has been bowling throughout the series, the Pakistani fans definitely did not miss Saeed Ajmal.
It will be interesting to see Sri Lanka's approach after they are dismissed in the first innings. Skipper Mathews would look to attack right from the onset and trouble Pakistan. Kaushal will be a key bowler for the Lankans and if Rangana Herath joins the party then things can be way more difficult fot the visitors.
Brief Scores:
Sri Lanka 272 for 8 (Dimuth Karunaratne 130, Upul Tharanga 46, Yasir Shah 4-77).
Where to Watch Live:
Day 2 of the third Test match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at Colombo is scheduled for 10am local time (10am IST, 5am BST, 4am GMT) with live coverage in India and Sri Lanka on Ten Cricket and Ten HD. The live streaming option will be available on Tensports.com.
Cricket fans in Pakistan can stream the match live on GeoSuperTv.
Viewers in the US can watch the match live on Willow TV and stream the game on Willow TV Online.
