Pakistan's 20-year-old debutant scores 57 as Sri Lanka bowled first in Rawalpindi
Tayyab Arif anchored a strong start for a revamped Pakistan side, which reached 137-2 by lunch against a greenish pitch in the first day of the series.
By Noor Phillips ·
A new look Pakistan batting lineup faced a difficult start on Monday when Sri Lanka chose to bowl first on a greenish wicket in Rawalpindi. The decision came after Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis won the toss. Despite the challenging conditions, Pakistan avoided early collapse and finished the first day's play at 137-2.
The primary driver of Pakistan's score was Tayyab Arif, a 20-year-old making his test debut. Arif struck 57 runs off 46 balls, including nine boundaries and one six. His aggressive approach helped the team reach 86-0 in the first 16 overs. Arif completed his fifty with back-to-back boundaries against Lahiru Kumara, who conceded 24 runs in his first four overs and was subsequently removed from the attack.
Sri Lanka managed to take two early wickets. Milan Rathnayake, who bowled eight overs for 18 runs and one wicket, took the key figures. He hit his mark in the third over when Kusal Mendis took a two-handed catch behind the stumps off a thick inside edge from Azan Awais. Later, Asitha Fernando claimed Arif's wicket when the debutant played away from his body and gave Mendis an easy catch. Awais had previously scored 30 runs.
Babar Azam and Mohammad Taha carried the innings after the early losses. Azam remained unbeaten on 31 at lunch. Taha, one of four Pakistan players making their test debuts, survived a close leg before wicket review against Rathnayake. The other debutants were Arafat Minhas, a spinning allrounder, and fast bowler Saqib Khan. Pakistan is attempting to strengthen its squad for the next World Test Championship cycle after finishing last in the current standings.
Pakistan has won only two of its nine matches in the current World Test Championship cycle. This includes a 3-0 loss in England and a 2-0 defeat to Bangladesh. Sri Lanka currently ranks seventh in the standings with one win, three draws, and two losses from six test matches. The Sri Lankan team has been in Pakistan for over a month, where they lost the T20 series 2-1 and the ODI tri-series final to Pakistan.
Sri Lanka holds a recent memory of success at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where they chased 430 against England in an ODI during the tri-series last month. For the test series, Pakistan will lead its pace attack with veteran Mohammad Abbas, express pacer Razaullah, and Saqib Khan. The home team did not select a specialist spinner, a mirror of Sri Lanka's decision to leave out Prabath Jayasuriya.
