KARACHI: Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed won the toss and opted to bat in the second day-night match against Sri Lanka in Karachi on Monday.
The city has not hosted a one-day international since 2009 when Sri Lanka played two back-to-back matches at the National Stadium.
Teams have been reluctant to visit the cricket-mad country since a deadly militant attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore that year.
The first match was rained off without play, while the third and final match will be staged in Karachi on Wednesday.
The two teams will also play three Twenty20 internationals in Lahore next month.
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain), Babar Azam, Imam-ul-Haq Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz.
Sri Lanka: Lahiru Thirimanne (capt), Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Avishka Fernando, Oshada Fernando, Shehan Jayasuriya, Dasun Shanaka, Wanindu Hasaranga, Nuwan Pradeep, Isuru Udana, Lahiru Kumara
Umpires: Michael Gough (ENG) and Shozaib Raza (PAK)
TV umpires: Joel Wilson (WIS)
Match referee: David Boon (AUS)
Pakistan bats in second one-day international
Pakistan bats in second one-day international
- Karachi has not hosted a one-day international since 2009
- Teams have been reluctant to visit Pakistan because of security concerns
Security forces kill 11 militants in separate operations in Pakistan’s northwest
- Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan
- Militant groups such as the Pakistani Taliban frequently target convoys of security forces, police and government officials
ISLAMABAD: Security forces gunned down 11 Pakistani Taliban militants in separate operations in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said on Saturday, amid a surge in militancy in the South Asian country.
The first intelligence-based operation was conducted in North Waziristan district, which borders Afghanistan, during which six militants were killed, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
Another joint intelligence-based operation by police and security forces was conducted in the Kurram district, which led to the killing of five other Pakistani Taliban militants in a fire exchange.
“Weapons and ammunition were also recovered from killed Indian-sponsored khwarij (militants), who remained actively involved in numerous terrorist activities,” the ISPR said in a statement.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Indian-sponsored kharja (militant) found in the area.”
There was no immediate comment by New Delhi to the Pakistani military statement.
Pakistan has struggled to contain a surge in militancy in KP in recent years. Militant groups such as the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), have frequently targeted convoys of security forces, police stations and check-posts besides kidnapping government officials in the region.
Last year, the South Asian country saw 73 percent increase in combat-related deaths, with both security forces and militants suffering casualties in large numbers.
As per statistics released by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), combat-related deaths in 2025 rose 73 percent to 3,387, compared with 1,950 in 2024. These deaths included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees (combatants), the think tank said in a press release.
Islamabad has frequently accused Afghanistan of allowing its soil and India of backing militant groups, including the TTP, for attacks against Pakistan. Kabul and New Delhi have consistently denied this.
