Mendis and Udara steady ship with warm-up fifties

Sri Lanka's cricket team kicked off their red-ball phase of the Pakistan tour by facing PCB Patron's XI in a warm-up game. Kusal Mendis and Lahiru Udara delivered half-centuries in the match, providing valuable support to the innings. The team had recently completed a series of T20Is and an ODI tournament across Rawalpindi and Lahore, before moving to Islamabad to prepare for the upcoming two-match Test series.

The tour was expected to last for seven weeks, during which some players were already feeling homesick. The game started on a shaky note, with Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Dinesh Chandimal, and Dhananjaya de Silva all getting out early. However, Udara and Mendis steadied the ship, adding 90 runs for the fourth wicket. Udara, who replaced the injured Pathum Nissanka, scored 65 runs, while Mendis put on a fluent 66.

Mendis has been entrusted with the captaincy across all three formats, and his innings contained 11 boundaries. Anjala Bandara, who was not in the original squad, scored 33 not out, pushing his chances for the wicketkeeper's berth. Sri Lanka finished the game at 232 for seven in 58 overs, with PCB Patron's XI replying with 43 for two in 15 overs.

The team included Lahiru Kumara, Dilshan Madushanka, Eshan Malinga, and Milan Rathnayake as seamers, with Asitha Fernando as the first-choice Test seamer.