Pakistan grab wickets as Test cricket returns after attack

Pakistan's all-pace attack snared four key Sri Lankan wickets on Wednesday to buoy the crowd as Test cricket made its long-awaited return after a deadly attack in 2009.

Shaheen Shah Afridi trapped Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne leg-before for 59 soon after lunch to trigger a collapse which saw the visitors lose four wickets within just 31 runs in Rawalpindi.

That saw Sri Lanka slump to 137-4 at tea after being well set at 89 without loss at lunch. Angelo Mathews was unbeaten on 14 and with him Dhananjaya de Silva not out on three.

Karunaratne hit nine boundaries in his 110-ball knock and set the platform after Sri Lanka won the toss and batted.

 

Once the opening stand of 96 was broken, 16-year-old pacer Naseem Shah had Oshada Fernando caught in the slip for 40, laced with six boundaries and a six.

It was Naseem's first Test wicket after he came away empty-handed from his debut in Brisbane against Australia last month.

Usman Shinwari also claimed his first wicket when Kusal Mendis edged him to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan for 10, while Mohammad Abbas bowled Dinesh Chandimal for two with a beautiful delivery.

The match is a momentous occasion for Pakistan, and there was applause as Pakistan captain Azhar Ali tossed the coin in the air to open proceedings.

Sri Lanka have embarked on the first Test tour of Pakistan since the gun-and-rocket attack in March 2009 killed eight people and wounded visiting players and officials, plunging Pakistan into sporting isolation.

With foreign teams refusing to tour, Pakistan have since played their 'home' fixtures in the United Arab Emirates, meaning all of their current team are now playing their first Test on home soil.

However, as security has improved, Pakistan has gradually revived international cricket with limited-overs matches against Zimbabwe, World XI, the West Indies and Sri Lanka over the last four years.

Pakistan, who surprisingly left out their key spinner Yasir Shah and opted for a four-man pace attack, struggled for a breakthrough.

Naseem was the stand-out bowler in the morning as he generated pace, hitting Karunaratne on the helmet in the 19th over.

Sri Lankan skipper, then on 42, fell down but showed no further signs of discomfort, hitting Shaheen Shah Afridi for his eighth boundary to reach 24th Test fifty.