Pakistan finish day one at 281-5 as debutants shine against Sri Lanka

Pakistan finished the first day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at 281-5 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday. After Sri Lankan captain Kusal Mendis won the toss and elected to field, four Pakistani batters scored half-centuries. Debutants Tayyab Arif and Mohammad Taha both reached the milestone, with Arif scoring 57 and Taha scoring 51. Captain Babar Azam hit 50 before being dismissed by Dilshan Madushanka, while Saud Shakeel remained unbeaten on 57 when play was stopped 15 minutes early due to bad light.

Dawn reported that Sri Lanka's decision to bowl first on a green pitch appeared to backfire, noting that their selection of a pace quartet without a frontline spinner might be costly as the pitch offered little to the fast bowlers. Asitha Fernando was the most successful bowler for Sri Lanka, taking 2-64. During the innings, Salman Agha scored 16 before being caught by Kusal Mendis, who recorded his fourth catch of the day. Daily Times confirmed that Pakistan handed Test debuts to Arafat Minhas and Mohammad Taha.

Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Times, Dawn — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.