Tea Pakistan 132 for 5 (Shakeel 22*, Salman 19*, Jayasuriya 3-46) trail Sri Lanka 312 (Dhananjaya 122, Mathews 64, Abrar 3-68, Afridi 3-86, Naseem 3-90) by 180 runs
Abdullah Shafique survived an exceptionally close lbw shout in the first over before Imam-ul-Haq fell playing a rash cover drive in the second, spooning it into backward point’s lap. Masood’s arrival heralded the start of the only passage in play where Pakistan were dominant. Picking up from an impressive display in the two-day warm-up game in Hambantota, Masood continued in the same fashion. He was adept at carving the ball through the covers, exploiting gaps and getting the run rate ticking.
By now, Jayasuriya had already begun to work his magic, sending Shafique on his way with a hint of extra turn. It would get better for Sri Lanka, though, when Babar Azam inside-edged an arm ball that lobbed straight up to the keeper, exposing Sarfaraz Ahmed and an inexperienced lower-middle order with Pakistan still 239 runs behind.
Mastery against spin is considered one of Sarfaraz’s strengths, but a sweep too many off Jayasuriya found him struck adjacent enough to be given out lbw in the last half hour before tea. It left the two new men in Pakistan’s middle order, Agha Salman and Saud Shakeel, to hold Sri Lanka’s relentless spinners off. While each made an encouraging start before tea, much of their work lies on the other side.