The first day of the second Test at P Sara Oval, Colombo saw Sri Lanka dominating Pakistan as they wiped out the visitor's batting line-up for a meagre total of 138 runs, thanks to some brilliant spells of bowling from youngster Tharindu Kaushal and Dhammika Prasad.
For Kaushal, it was the second Test match of his career and has managed to pick up five wickets on Day 1. Surprisingly, in spite of looking at the grass topping on the wicket, Pakistan skipper Misbah ul Haq won the toss and elected to bat first.
The pitch at Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium is one of the most productive wickets in South Asia and is bound to produce pace and bounce. The way Prasad bowled right from the onset proved the above-mentioned fact. Adding on to that was Kaushal, who was getting to turn the ball and also he was getting good bounce off the deck.
Pakistan looked good after they lost the wicket of Ahmed Shehzad early. Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali were batting sensibly till the lunch break and they were placed at 70 for the loss of two wickets. There was a slight interruption in the day's play post lunch due to rain, but as soon as the match resumed Pakistan lost rest of their eight wickets in just 68 runs.
Hafeez was the top-scorer with 42 runs under his belt and no other batsman could withstand the pressure in the middle. Kaushal gave away just 42 runs in his spell of 10.5 overs and his five scalps included - Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed, Wahab Riaz and Yasir Shah. Prasad bowled at a decent pace and managed to pick the wickets of Shehzad, Azhar Ali and the big wicket of Younis Khan.
Later in the day, when the Lankans came out to bat, they played watchfully right from the start. Riaz and Junaid Khan were unable break the deadlock until Khan picked up the wicket of Dimuth Karunaratne. Kumar Sangakkara (who is playing his last Test match against Pakistan) along with Kaushal Silva stabilised the Sri Lankan innings.
Day 2 will see the duo starting the proceedings for Sri Lanka. They would look to add as many runs on the board as they can. Misbah ul-Haq completely misread the pitch earlier on Day 1 and Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews would be aware that if they manage to put a good total on board, then they can bounce back strongly and square the series.
The weather report suggests that there might be spells of some showers in Colombo, but it is not as threatening as it was in Galle. One can expect a full day of Test cricket with Sri Lanka in command at this moment. But one never knows when this game can change. An exciting day of cricket is on the cards.
Brief Score:
Pakistan 138 (Hafeez 42; Kaushal 5-42, Prasad 3-43), Sri Lanka 70 for 1 (Karunaratne 28)
Where to Watch Live:
The second day of the second Test match between Sri Lanka and Pakistan at P Sara Oval in 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.
