Watch: Pakistan quick Shaheen Shah Afridi ploughed through the Sri Lankan top-order in a firey display of new-ball bowling, picking up his 100th Test scalp in the process.
The first of the two-match Test series in Galle is Shaheen’s first Test in 365 days, his last appearance coming at the same venue.
A largely rain-affected day could not stem Shaheen’s opening spell, which reduced Sri Lanka to 53-3 inside an hour of play.
Shaheen is palying his first Test since this time last year, with the time inbetween blighted by injury. There were glimpses of his best in a pacy showing in a warm-up game ahead of the series, and with this burst, it was like he had never been away.
The wicket of Nishan Madushka arrived first, a wafting drive outside off stump which carried through to Sarfaraz Ahmed behind the stumps.
Kusal Mendis met his demise after a big swinger nipped across the right-hander, his outside edge taken smartly at second slip by Agha Salman. Skipper Dimuth Karunaratne would suffer the same fate as his opening partner Madushka, strangled down the leg side off the hip.
Sri Lanka found themselves 54-4 soon after, as Naseem Shah picked up the wicket of Dinesh Chandimal, but a middle-order rally from Angelo Matthews and Dhananja de Silva – the latter finishing the day 94* – meant Sri Lanka closed out day one with the score at 242-6.
