Dhananjaya and Afridi Shine in Galle's Action-Packed Day

Sri Lanka scored 242 runs for the loss of 6 wickets against Pakistan in Galle. Rain disrupted play for a significant portion of the first day. Both teams had moments of dominance during the breaks in play. Pakistan gained an advantage with Shaheen Shah Afridi taking three wickets in quick succession, but Sri Lanka fought back with a partnership of 131 runs between Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva.

Mathews played a brilliant innings of 64 runs before getting out just before tea. Dhananjaya then formed another crucial partnership with Sadeera Samarawickrama (36 runs off 57 balls). However, Pakistan struck a blow towards the end of the day when Samarawickrama was caught brilliantly by Imam-ul-Haq at short leg. Sri Lanka finished the day with 242 runs on the board, with Dhananjaya unbeaten on 94 runs.

The last two wickets tilted the day in Pakistan's favor. Ramesh Mendis will be the next batsman to come in, but with Dhananjaya still at the crease, Pakistan cannot afford to be complacent. Throughout the day, Dhananjaya showed his ability to perform under pressure, coming to the crease when Sri Lanka was struggling at 54 for 4.

During the morning session, Afridi took his 100th Test wicket and dismissed Nishan Madushka. After the rain break, he continued his impressive bowling by getting rid of Kusal Mendis and Dimuth Karunaratne. Pakistan seemed to be in control when Dinesh Chandimal was also dismissed. However, Mathews and Dhananjaya weathered the storm and reached lunch without further loss.

In the post-lunch session, the seam movement reduced with the sun coming out. Mathews and Dhananjaya took advantage of the favorable conditions and built a partnership of 120 runs. Mathews played some delightful straight drives, while Dhananjaya took on the role of the aggressor, hitting boundaries and sixes, particularly targeting Noman Ali.

Spinners dominated the middle session, but there was little turn on offer. Mathews rotated the strike well, while Dhananjaya attacked the spinners. Towards the end of the session, the run rate increased as Mathews joined the aggressive approach, hitting boundaries off Agha Salman. However, Mathews fell short of his century, getting caught behind off Abrar Ahmed.

During this period, Samarawickrama struggled against Abrar's variations and couldn't read the turn accurately. Noman Ali couldn't make a significant impact, and Naseem Shah's short ball strategy didn't trouble the batsmen either. Rain interrupted play again, and Pakistan made a comeback in the final session.

Afridi and Abrar troubled Samarawickrama, and Salman finally got the breakthrough by dismissing him off the bat and pad, with a brilliant catch by Imam-ul-Haq. Pakistan ended the day on a positive note, being the happier of the two teams.