• Sri Lanka ended Day 1 of the first Test against Pakistan on 241 for 6.

  • Dhananjaya de Silva remained unbeaten on 94.

Twitter reactions: Dhananjaya de Silva’s resilient innings rescues Sri Lanka after Shaheen Afridi’s early blows on Day 1
Dhananjaya de Silva and Shaheen Afridi (Image Source: Twitter)

The first Test match of the two-match series between Sri Lanka and Pakistan went underway at the Galle International Stadium on Sunday (July 16). The Sri Lankan team ended the Day 1 of the opening Test on a positive note after some early setbacks in the morning session.

Winning the toss and opting to bat first, Sri Lanka got off to a disastrous start and lost their opener Nishan Madushka early in the second over. Kusal Mendis followed soon after Madushka’s dismissal, departing in the seventh over with the team score at 22-2. Although Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne showed some resistance, he also fell quickly, adding to Islander’s early troubles at 53-3. Dinesh Chandimal‘s dismissal in the 16th over further deepened the hosts’ woes.

However, Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva steadied the innings for Sri Lanka with a crucial partnership. Mathews played a solid knock, scoring 64 runs off 109 deliveries, while de Silva remained unbeaten on 94 runs from 157 balls. The partnership between the duo helped the hosts recover from the early setbacks. Sadeera Samarawickrama contributed with a handy 34 runs from 57 deliveries, but he couldn’t bat the day out as well and was dismissed just before the stumps of Day 1, making Sri Lanka’s score 241/6 in 65.4 overs.

Pakistan’s bowlers put up a commendable effort to keep the Sri Lankan batters in check. Shaheen Afridi was the pick of the bowlers, claiming three wickets for 63 runs. Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed and Agha Salman also contributed with a wicket each.

With four wickets in hand and De Silva still on the crease, the hosts will look to build on the 241-run total when they resume their innings on Day 2. Meanwhile, Pakistan bowlers will aim to wrap things up quickly in the morning session itself.

Here’s how Twitter reacted: 

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VISHWANATH HARIHARAN
Vishwanath Hariharan is Content Strategist at CricketTimes.com. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. From breaking news stories to in-depth features and opinion pieces, he has covered a wide range of topics. Vishwanath is very fond of watching cricket. Like many others, he too grew up watching, playing, and imitating his favourite players of the game. MS Dhoni is like a demigod to him. You can connect with him at vishwanath.hariharan@crickettimes.com and follow him on Twitter & Linkedin.