Debutant pace bowler Saqib Khan grabbed two wickets as Sri Lanka struggled to 114-3 by the end of day two of the opening Test after Pakistan declared at 434-9 in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Saqib dismissed Dinesh Chandimal for one in his second over and then removed a well-set Lahiru Udara for 42 to leave Sri Lanka on 65-3.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
His experienced pace partner Mohammad Abbas took the first wicket, having opener Pasindu Sooriyabandara caught behind for a duck in the third over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Kamindu Mendis (40) and Dhananjaya de Silva (22) were unbeaten at the close, with Sri Lanka still trailing by 320 runs on the first innings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Bad light again stopped play 25 minutes before schedule.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
De Silva was dropped by spinner Arafat Minhas in the penultimate over of the day.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Saqib had the figures of 2-54, while Abbas took 1-23.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pakistan middle-order batter Saud Shakeel earlier missed his century by seven runs, a miscued hook off Asitha Fernando giving wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis his fifth catch in the innings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Shakeel, who became Fernando's 100th wicket in 29 Tests, hit nine boundaries in his 199-ball innings.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He lifted Pakistan from 281-5 overnight with a resolute 96-run stand with Ghazi Ghori for the sixth wicket. Ghori scored a confident 48.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Shakeel said he was disappointed at missing a fifth Test century.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Yes, you get disappointed when you miss a milestone and it looks bad," said Shakeel. "But we have put up a good total with Arafat chipping in with a half century."<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sri Lankan fielding coach Jordan Gregory hoped his batters show grit to match Pakistan's total.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We have to take the match session by session and hope that the Kamindu-De Silva partnership goes on and make a match of it because the pitch has enough to produce a result," said Gregory.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Debutant Minhas made a stylish 52, the fifth half-century of the innings, that included nine boundaries and a six.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Sri Lanka had hoped for early wickets but struggled on a seemingly hard and green pitch, despite taking the second new ball after 80 overs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Dilshan Madushanka finally made the breakthrough when Ghori edged him to gully, where Sooriyabandara held a low catch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pace bowlers Fernando and Madushanka were the pick of the Sri Lanka attack, both taking three wickets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n