ABU DHABI : Left-arm paceman Junaid Khan chipped in with a maiden
five-wicket haul to help Pakistan bundle Sri Lanka for a mere 197-run
total on the first day of the opening Test here on Tuesday.The
21-year-old, playing in only his second Test, with 5-38 and was ably
supported by pace partner Umar Gul (2-37) and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal
(2-56) after Pakistan put Sri Lanka into bat on a greenish Abu Dhabi
stadium pitch.Pakistan finished the day at 27-0, with Mohammad Hafeez on 17 and Taufiq Umar unbeaten on eight.Sri
Lanka, who were confidently placed at 51-1 at lunch, could never
recover from the loss of six wickets for 65 runs between lunch and tea,
as Khan produced a burst of three wickets in the space of just five
deliveries.Vice-captain Angelo Mathews cracked four
boundaries and a six in a fighting unbeaten 52 to avoid total disaster,
putting up innings' highest partnership with Suranga Lakmal of 54 after
Sri Lanka were tottering at 114-7.Paceman Aizaz Cheema
(1-51) had opened the gates by dismissing former Sri Lanka captain Kumar
Sangakkara (two) in the second over after lunch, forcing an edge off
the left-hander which was smartly held by a diving keeper Adnan Akmal.Opener
Tharanga Paranavitana then gloved a short-pitch delivery off Gul to
Akmal to leave the Islanders struggling at 79-3. Paranavitana hit three
boundaries during his patient knock of 37.Skipper
Tillakaratne Dilshan, who demoted himself to number five against
Australia last month, hit the first ball he faced for a boundary and
added 33 with Paranavitana before Sri Lanka lost the way.Dilshan
was unlucky to be given out, caught behind off Ajmal by New Zealand
umpire Tony Hill when replays showed he clearly missed the ball.Khan
then ripped through the middle-order, dismissing Mahela Jayawardene
(28) with the third ball of his ninth over, had Parasanna Jayawardene
(nought) three balls later and then Rangana Herath (nought) off the
first ball of his next.Khan, who took only one wicket in his
debut Test against Zimbabwe last month, returned for his third spell to
take the last two wickets, getting Chanaka Welegedara (11) and debutant
Nuwan Pradeep (one) to wrap up the innings.Before Khan's final acts, Gul had dismissed Lakamal (18) to end Sri Lanka's resistance.Khan,
preferred over more experienced Wahab Riaz, justified his selection as
both Pakistan and Sri Lanka decided to enter with three pacemen and one
specialist spinner, with the Islanders giving debut to Nuwan Prasad.In
the first session Sri Lankan openers were cautious, as Misbah brought
on spinner Hafeez in the eighth over. But it was Ajmal who gave the
breakthrough dismissing opener Lahiru Thirimanne for 20 before lunch.The
three Test series was shifted to United Arab Emirates after Sri Lanka
refused an invitation to tour Pakistan in the wake of terrorists attacks
on a military base in Karachi in May this year.
