Resuming their innings on 241, the hosts finished their first innings on a score of 312. The day also saw Dhananjaya de Silva completing his ton and reaching a score of 122 before falling prey to Naseem Shah. The dismissal of De Silva opened the doors for Pakistan, and they eventually dismissed all the remaining batters cheaply to bowl out the hosts. However, Vishwa Fernando added crucial 21 runs for his team batting on the eleventh position. All Shaheen Afridi, Naseem and Abrar Ahmed bagged three wickets for Pakistan.
In reply, Pakistan’s innings got off to a disastrous start and lost their opener Imam-ul-Haq (1) in the second over itself. Although Abdullah Shafique seemed good, he too was dismissed for 19 runs by Ramesh Mendis. The wicket of Shafique was soon followed by Shan Masood (39) and Babar Azam (13). Sarfaraz Ahmed (17) fell victim to Prabath Jayasuriya as well.
Despite losing wickets at regular intervals, the Pakistan innings was revived by a crucial partnership between Saud Shakeel and Agha Salman. The duo struck brilliant half-centuries and finished the rain-affected day unbeaten on 69 and 61 runs, respectively. On the other hand, Jayasuriya shined among Sri Lankan bowlers and picked three wickets for his side.
Pakistan will now look to carry the momentum and dissolve the 91-run gap when they resume their innings tomorrow. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka will be determined to wrap things up quickly on Day 3.
Here’s how Twitter reacted:
Stumps have been called on Day 2. Prabath Jayasuriya's sensational three-fer left Pakistan at 101/5, but the visitors showed resilience in the final session. #SLvPAK pic.twitter.com/1cBsqRF3Nd
— Sri Lanka Cricket(@OfficialSLC) July 17, 2023
Agha Salman and Saud Shakeel have 31 first-class hundreds between them. The way both of them have tackled Prabath Jayasuriya and have played with positive intent is commendable. They are going to serve Pakistan cricket for years to come In Shaa Allah#SLvPAK
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) July 17, 2023
so far a good recovery by Pakistan against Sri Lanka
i hope they do not fall down easily tomorrow morning
— Fahad Afridi(@37gunner) July 17, 2023
Stumps on Day 2
An unbeaten 120-run stand between Saud Shakeel and Agha Salman has bailed Pakistan out of trouble#WTC25 | #SLvPAK | pic.twitter.com/0nHKpGtbK1
— Team Pakistan (@Cricket_PCB) July 17, 2023
Outstanding partnership between Saud Shakeel & Agha Salman#PAKvSL
— M A N I (@NomanSh19) July 17, 2023
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