Lankans hit back

Thilan Samaraweera’s fourth Test hundred and Shoaib Akhtar’s ninth five-wicket haul dominated an absorbing second day of the first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Thursday.

Sri Lanka, who were bowled out for 243 after losing three wickets in 22 balls, fought back to reduce Pakistan to 256 for eight at the close. Pakistan, bidding for their first home series win over Sri Lanka since 1995-96, lead by just 13 runs on an increasingly docile pitch.

Brief scores

Sri Lanka: 243 (S Jayasuriya 38, T Samaraweera 100, J Mubarak 34; S Akhtar 5/60, M Sami 4/71) vs Pakistan: 256/8 (Y Hameed 58, S Malik 48, A Razzaq 39; D Fernando 2/65, R Herath 2/66)