Centuries from Dhananjaya de Silva and captain Kusal Mendis powered Sri Lanka to 404 for 4 at the close of the third day of the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, with bad light bringing an early end to play, according to ARY News. The tourists now trail Pakistan’s first-innings total of 434 for 9 declared by just 30 runs, with six wickets still in hand heading into the fourth day.
Sri Lanka had resumed the morning on 114 for 3, having lost both openers cheaply the previous evening. Kamindu Mendis, who was unbeaten overnight, went on to complete his eighth Test half-century before edging Mohammad Abbas behind to wicketkeeper Ghazi Ghori in the morning session — the only wicket to fall all day, according to The Express Tribune. Kamindu’s innings of 58 came off 131 balls with eight boundaries.
From there, de Silva and Mendis simply refused to let Pakistan back into the game. The pair put together an unbroken stand that ARY News described as a Sri Lankan record fifth-wicket partnership against Pakistan, surpassing the 207 added by Thilan Samaraweera and Tillakaratne Dilshan in Lahore in 2009. The Express Tribune noted the pair could go on to chase down Sri Lanka’s all-time highest fifth-wicket stand of 280, set by the same Samaraweera-Dilshan pairing against Bangladesh in 2005, if they continue batting into the fourth day.
De Silva brought up his hundred — his 14th in Test cricket, and second at this ground — before going on to an unbeaten 167 off 241 balls studded with 20 fours. Mendis, leading Sri Lanka in a Test match for the first time in his career, reached three figures soon after to become, per ARY News, the first Sri Lankan captain to score a century in his maiden Test in charge — his 11th Test hundred overall. He finished the day unbeaten on 117 off 188 balls, with 10 fours and four sixes, when the umpires finally called off play for bad light.
Pakistan’s bowling attack, which includes several players who made their Test debuts earlier in this series, toiled for long stretches without reward. Mohammad Abbas was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2 for 64, while Saqib Khan — who had claimed both his wickets on the second day — finished with 2 for 105 from 26 overs. Razaullah conceded 127 runs across 23 overs without a breakthrough, and part-time options including Arafat Minhas and Salman Ali Agha were also tried as Pakistan searched for a way through the stand.
| Detail | Figures |
|---|---|
| Pakistan 1st innings | 434-9 declared (106.3 overs) |
| Sri Lanka, overnight (Day 2 close) | 114-3 |
| Sri Lanka, Day 3 close | 404-4 (trail by 30 runs) |
| Dhananjaya de Silva | 167* off 241 balls, 20 fours — 14th Test century |
| Kusal Mendis (captain) | 117* off 188 balls, 10 fours, 4 sixes — 11th Test century |
| Kamindu Mendis | 58 off 131 balls, 8 fours — c Ghori b Abbas |
| Pakistan’s leading bowlers | Mohammad Abbas 2-64; Saqib Khan 2-105 |
Pakistan had declared on 434 for 9 on Tuesday evening on the back of half-centuries from Saud Shakeel (93), Tayyab Arif (57), Arafat Minhas (52) and Mohammad Taha (51), with Babar Azam also chipping in with 50. Sri Lanka had looked firmly on the back foot as recently as the lunch break, when they were 221 for 4, but the afternoon and evening sessions belonged entirely to de Silva and Mendis. With the second Test of the series also shifted to Rawalpindi and set to begin on November 17 because of poor weather in Lahore, Pakistan will need early wickets on the fourth morning to avoid conceding a first-innings lead in this series opener.
Our Opinion
Pakistan’s bowling attack looks exactly like what it is right now — a unit rebuilt in a hurry around four debutants, asked to bowl out a settled, senior Sri Lankan middle order with very little margin for error; that a 30-run deficit with six wickets still standing now counts as a tolerable position for the hosts says as much about how far the new-look attack still has to go as it does about the class of de Silva and Mendis, and the fourth morning will show whether Pakistan’s selectors are building something that can hold up over a full series or simply buying time until more experienced bowlers are available again.
