Pakistan took control of the first Test in Rawalpindi by declaring at 434/9 and reducing Sri Lanka to 114/3 before bad light ended the second day. The visitors remained 320 runs behind, with Kamindu Mendis and Dhananjaya de Silva unbeaten.
Lower order lifts Pakistan beyond 400
Resuming at 281/5, Pakistan extended their innings through useful contributions down the order. Saud Shakeel made 93 before Kusal Mendis caught him off Asitha Fernando, leaving the left-hander seven short of a century.
Ghazi Ghori contributed 48 and shared a 96-run sixth-wicket partnership with Shakeel. Dilshan Madushanka eventually removed Ghori, but Arafat Minhas added 52 from number nine to take Pakistan further ahead. Fernando and Madushanka finished with three wickets each, returning 3/107 and 3/108 respectively.
Sri Lanka recover after early wickets
Mohammad Abbas and Saqib Khan struck in successive overs early in Sri Lanka’s reply. Pasindu Sooriyabandara and Dinesh Chandimal departed as the visitors slipped to 12/2.
Lahiru Udara then made 42 and added 53 with Kamindu Mendis. Saqib returned to dismiss Udara, with Ghori taking the catch behind the stumps. That left another rebuilding task for the middle order.
Kamindu and Dhananjaya steadied the innings with an unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership of 62. Kamindu closed on 40 and Dhananjaya on 22 when the light stopped play. Their stand kept Sri Lanka from losing further ground, although Pakistan retained a substantial first-innings advantage.
The figures are the day-two closing position reported by the ICC on November 10, rather than a continuously updating live score. The series continues with a second Test in Lahore scheduled for November 17–21.