The first Test of the two-match series between Pakistan and Sri Lanka commenced at the Galle international stadium on Sunday (July 16). The opening session of the match saw Pakistan seamer Shaheen Afridi complete his 100 Test wickets. It is worth mentioning that Shaheen had to wait one year to jump to 100 Test wickets from 99 due to sustaining an injury and being away from the action.
Winning the toss and opting to bat first, the Islander’s decision completely backfired as they lost a few quick early wickets courtesy of a brilliant spell from Shaheen. The left-arm pacer first dismissed Nishan Madushka (4) off a brilliant delivery to mark his 100th Test wicket and then sent back Kusal Mendis (12) to the pavilion with another ripper.
The wicket of Madushka for Shaheen came in the third over of the innings when the 23-year-old Pakistani bowler delivered a swinging ball that slanted away from the right-handed Sri Lankan batter, and he edged it to the wicketkeeper. Following the dismissal of Madushka, Shaheen pulled off his traditional celebration to celebrate his century of wickets in the Test format and raised both his hands in the air with a smile.
Here’s the video:
https://twitter.com/Rnawaz31888/status/1680442772216487936
Speaking of the second dismissal that Shaheen struck, the wicket of Mendis for the Pakistani cricketer came on the fourth ball of the sixth over in a similar manner, where he produced a straighter delivery angled outside-off, which Mendis edged to Agha Salman at the second slip.
https://twitter.com/cricketpakcompk/status/1680471673638891520
Coming back to the match, the Sri Lanka ship further sank to 65/4 in 19 over until Lunch on Day 1. Although Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne showed some resilience and scored decent 29 runs, he too was trapped by Shaheen later. Meanwhile, the fourth wicket for Pakistan was taken by young Naseem Shah, who trapped Dinesh Chandimal (1).
