Shakeel fell seven short of a hundred, and debutant Saqib Khan has Sri Lanka 320 behind in Rawalpindi
Saqib Khan took two wickets on Test debut after Pakistan’s declaration, and Kamindu Mendis is 40 not out with Sri Lanka still 320 behind.
Nov 10, 2026
Saud Shakeel had batted for 199 balls and looked set for his first Test hundred in two years when he went after a short ball from Asitha Fernando, got a thin edge down the leg side and walked off for 93. Pakistan declared on 434 for 9 six overs later, and by the time bad light ended day two early in Rawalpindi, Sri Lanka were 114 for 3 and still 320 behind.
It was Fernando’s 100th Test wicket, and his first of the day, 33 overs into it.
Ghori and Arafat push Pakistan past 400
Pakistan resumed on 281 for 5, and the first wicket of the day did not fall until the 89th over. Shakeel and the wicketkeeper Ghazi Ghori added 96 for the sixth wicket at close to four an over, mostly through singles, before Dilshan Madushanka had Ghori caught for 48 off 72 balls.
Arafat Minhas, one of Pakistan’s four debutants, then put on 44 with Shakeel. After Shakeel fell, Pakistan stopped building and started swinging. Arafat and Razaullah took 41 off 30 balls with some hard hitting and a dropped top edge, and Arafat reached a maiden Test fifty off 70 balls. He was out for 52 at 434, Razaullah fell for 10 in the next over without another run added, and Babar Azam closed the innings.
Fernando finished with 3 for 107 and Madushanka with 3 for 108. Kusal Mendis, keeping wicket as well as captaining, held five catches behind the stumps.
Saqib Khan’s first two Test wickets
Sri Lanka were 12 for 2 inside four overs. Mohammad Abbas found the edge of Pasindu Sooriyabandara, promoted to open in only his third Test, for a seven-ball duck. Saqib Khan, another debutant, then angled one in from wide of the crease and straightened it to take Dinesh Chandimal’s leading edge for 1.
Lahiru Udara hit seven fours in a quick 42 off 52 balls, but he had already been dropped at gully driving loosely when Saqib drew the same shot from him again, and this time Ghori took the catch. That left Sri Lanka 65 for 3 in the 17th over.
Kamindu Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva got through the rest of the day, adding 49 unbroken off 62 balls. Kamindu, 40 not out, had already survived an lbw review that stayed with the umpire’s call and a chance that fell just short of backward point. De Silva is 22 not out. Saqib has 2 for 54 from 10.1 overs and Abbas 1 for 23 from nine.
Where the Test stands
Sri Lanka need another 121 just to avoid the follow-on, with the captain Kusal Mendis still to come. The gap between the attacks on the first two days has been the line and length. Pakistan’s seamers have kept the ball in a channel outside off stump, while Sri Lanka’s drifted for long spells. That accounts for most of the difference between 434 and 114 for 3.
The second Test of the series starts in Lahore on 17 November.