COLOMBO // Young off-spinner Tharindu Kaushal grabbed five wickets as Sri Lanka bundled out Pakistan for 138 on the opening day of the second Test.
Seamer Dhammika Prasad chipped in with three wickets as the visitors collapsed in 42.5 overs by tea after Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq elected to bat on a fresh, bouncy pitch at the P Sara Oval.
Sri Lanka, looking for a series-levelling win after losing the first Test in Galle by 10 wickets, were 70 for one at stumps and well set to build a big first-innings lead.
Kumar Sangakkara was unbeaten on 18 and Kaushal Silva was on 21 after Dimuth Karunaratne was caught behind for 28 while trying to slash a wide ball from seamer Junaid Khan.
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Kaushal, 22, playing only his second Test match, finished with five for 42 runs in 10.5 overs of accurate spin bowling in helpful conditions.
“It was good to bowl on this wicket,” said Kaushal, who regards fellow off-spinner and world bowling record holder Muttiah Muralitharan as his hero.
“I occasionally bowled the ‘doosra’ and even managed to pick up a wicket with it. I am happy I was able to help the team do well on the field.”
Mohammad Hafeez top-scored with 42 as Pakistan lost eight wickets in the afternoon session after resuming at the lunch score of 70 for two.
Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said the decision to bat first was correct because it the pitch was favourable to batsmen.
“There were no demons in the pitch,” the former Pakistan fast bowler said. “Our shot selection was poor and Sri Lanka bowled well, too. But we should have got a lot more runs than we did.
“Our bowlers, too, kept the runs in check and we need to continue the same way.”
Prasad, who took the field despite having suffered a finger injury during net practice on Wednesday, struck with the first ball of his second over to make it five for one.
He forced Ahmed Shehzad to edge a rising ball to second slip where the Kumar Sangakkara, 37, dived to his right to pick up a low catch.
Azhar Ali, who put on 46 for the second wicket with Hafeez, was dismissed for 26 when TV umpire Paul Reiffel upheld Sri Lanka’s review for an edge off Prasad after on-field official Richard Illingworth had turned down the appeal.
Younis Khan, making his 100th Test appearance, survived a confident leg-before appeal on zero, but was caught behind by Dinesh Chandimal off Prasad for six in the first over after lunch.
Younis became the fifth Pakistani cricketer to play 100 or more Tests after Javed Miandad (124), Inzamam-ul-Haq (119), Wasim Akram (104) and Salim Malik (103).
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