RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: Sri Lanka skipper Dimuth Karunaratne won the toss and decided to bat on Wednesday in the first Test in Pakistan since a deadly attack on the Sri Lankan team a decade ago.
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 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 entered the Test with a four-man pace attack, giving Test debuts to opener Abid Ali and left-arm fast bowler Usman Shinwari.
Sri Lanka have also included three fast bowlers, with Dilruwan Perera the lone spinner.
Teams:
Pakistan: Azhar Ali (captain), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah, Shan Masood, Usman Shinwari
Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Oshada Fernando, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhananjaya de Silva, Niroshan Dickwella, Dilruwan Perera, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha
Umpires: Michael Gough (ENG), Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
TV umpire: Richard Illingworth (ENG)
Match referee: Andy Pycroft (ZIM)
