HALF-centuries from Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal frustrated Pakistan on Sarfraz Ahmed’s first day as Test captain after Yasir Shah made history against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi.

No spinner has taken fewer matches than the 27 Yasir has needed to reach the 150-wicket mark after he struck twice to reduce the tourists to 61-3 at lunch in a new era for Pakistan following the retirement of former skipper Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan.
Yasir (2-59) passed fit after being told to improve his physical condition by chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq, also joined compatriot Waqar Younis as the joint-second quickest bowler to reach that landmark.
Karunaratne (93) and captain Chandimal (60 not out) led Sri Lanka’s recovery, putting on 100 for the fourth wicket before they closed on 227-4.
Sri Lanka were whitewashed by India on home soil in their last Test series, prompting the selection committee to resign, but Karunaratne, Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella (42no) showed character on a slow-moving opening day of a two-match series.
Hasan Ali (1-58) got the breakthrough to end an opening stand of 34 in the 18th over when Kaushal Silva shouldered arms, but failed to get his bat out of the way of a rising delivery and played on after Chandimal won the toss.
Lahiru Thirimanne was trapped in front without scoring, attempting an ugly heave into the leg side to become Yasir’s 150th Test scalp and the leg-spinner had Kusal Mendis caught behind on the stroke of lunch.
The patient Karunaratne and Chandimal stabilised the innings following the interval, the opener bringing up his 13th Test half-century with a quick single.
Karunaratne and Chandimal rotated the strike as boundaries continued to be hard to come by, getting through to tea without further damage, but the former threw it away just seven shy of a seventh Test hundred when he set off for a single and the skipper remained rooted at the non-striker’s end. (Omnisport)

SRI LANKA 1st innings
Dimuth Karunaratne run-out 93
Kaushal Silva b H. Ali 12
Lahiru Thirimanne lbw b Shah 0
Kusal Mendis c S. Ahmed b Shah 10
Dinesh Chandimal not out 60
Niroshan Dickwella not out 42
Extras: (lb-8, nb-2) 10
Total: (for 4 wickets, 90 overs) 227
Fall of wickets: 1-34, 2-35 3-61, 4-161.
Bowling: Mohammad Amir 17-3-39-0, Mohammad Abbas 16-0-43-0 (nb-1), Yasir Shah 34-8-59-2, Hasan Ali 17-4-58-1 (nb-1), Shan Masood 1-1-0-0, Haris Sohail 4-0-14-0, Asad Shafiq 1-0-6-0,