da 888casino： Islamabad, Feb 21: A dodgy half century by skipper Sanath Jayasuriyahelped Sri Lanka recover from early setbacks against a spiritedPakistan Cricket Board XI on a rain-effected opening day of thethree-day match at the KRL Stadium on Monday
22-Feb-2000Islamabad, Feb 21: A dodgy half century by skipper Sanath Jayasuriyahelped Sri Lanka recover from early setbacks against a spiritedPakistan Cricket Board XI on a rain-effected opening day of thethree-day match at the KRL Stadium on Monday.Jayasuriya scored 60 as Sri Lanka reached 162 for five when bad lightforced an early closure with 12 overs still to be bowled.Former captain Arjuna Ranatunga (19) and wicket-keeper RomeshKaluwitharana (8) will resume Sri Lanka’s first innings on Tuesdaymorning. The play will start 30 minutes early to recover some of thelost time.In the morning, the start of the proceedings were delayed by 155minutes because of overnight rain. The play was halted again at 2:00pmwhen Jayasuriya complained of a dangerous spot in the middle of thepitch. An early tea was taken but 25 minutes were lost as thegroundsmen used heavy roller to dry the patch.Jayasuriya was first dropped by Younis Khan at 7 and then he was letoff again at 25 when Wajahatullah Wasti and Rashid Latif made a messof what appeared a regulation catch because of atrocious calling. Thesufferer on both the occasions was promising fast bowler Irfan Fazilwho produced a fiery first spell only to be let down by the fielderswho showed greasy palms.Jayasuriya’s innings finally ended when leg-spinner Shafiq Ahmad hadthe left-hander caught at point by Irfan Fazil. The Sri Lankancaptain’s 60 was studded with 10 boundaries. He faced 78 balls.Jayasuriya was involved in an innings building 78-run fourth wicketpartnership with Mahela Jayawardena after the tourists had slumped to48 for three after electing to bat first.Jayawardena departed after scoring a sedate 39 off 79 balls when IrfanFazil brought off a spectacular reflex action catch of his ownbowling. Jayawardena hit seven boundaries.Test pacer Mohammad Akram provided the first break through at thetotal of 20 when Taufiq Umer caught Russel Arnold (11) who mistimedshot.Sri Lanka then lost two quick wickets soon after play resumedfollowing an early tea. Irfan Fazil caught Tillekeratne Dilshan (5) infront of the wickets when the total was 46 and two runs later a risingdeliveryfrom Mohammad Akram took Aravinda de Silva (1) by surprise asfound the outside edge of the bat to be caught by Wasti at first slip.De Silva would be regretting to lose an opportunity to get somepractice prior to the first Test commencing at Rawalpindi from Feb 26.Both de Silva and Ranatunga are on a comeback trail after havingmissed the Zimbabwe tour. However, Jayasuriya and Jayawardena repairedthe damage with a a 78-run partnership. Both played exciting strokesbut it were their pull shots that were highly applauded by a sizablecrowd present at the stadium. The left and right combination alsobaffled the hosts who went into the match with one bowler short.Before the start of the match, the home team went through a change intheir line-up when off-spinner Shoaib Malik was replacedwithall-rounder Taimoor Khan of Allied Bank. Shoaib withdrew when hedeveloped pain in his bowling shoulder during warm-up.The islanders, who have done nothing wrong in the tour so far, restedtheir in-form players Marvan Atapattu, Muttiah Muralitharan andChaminda Vaas.Earlier in the day, Sri Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya inauguratedthe new pavilion at the KRL Stadium in a simple ceremony.