DUBAI : Pakistan's bowlers once again caught Sri Lanka napping on the
opening day of the second cricket Test at Dubai Stadium here on
Wednesday.Sri Lanka, opting to bat on a bouncy pitch, were
pegged back by Umar Gul (3-49) before slumping further to 176-8 by tea
as the Pakistan attack kept relentless pressure on the batsmen with some
early help from the pitch Kumar Sangakkara, who scored 211
to help Sri Lanka draw the first of three Tests in Abu Dhabi last week,
top-scored with 78 hitting eleven boundaries and added an invaluable 54
runs for the sixth wicket with debutant Kaushal Silva (20).At tea, Rangana Herath (six) and Chanaka Welegedara (15) were at the crease.When
Sangakkara looked set for another century he lost his concentration as
he jumped down the crease to hoist left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman
straight into the hands of deep mid-wicket fielder Asad Shafiq.Sangakkara,
who also added 27 for the seventh wicket with Dhammika Prasad (seven),
had defied the Pakistani bowlers during the first session in which Sri Lanka lost five wickets, three in Gul's incisive first spell.Junaid
Khan ably complemented Gul by dismissing Tillakaratne Dilshan (seven)
and Angelo Mathews (19) to leave Sri Lanka struggling at 78-5 at lunch.Gul
trapped opener Lahiru Thirimanne (one) in front of the wicket with the
second delivery of his second over as Indian umpire Shahvir Tarapore
upheld the appeal for his maiden decision in his first Test.Gul
then had two wickets in his fifth over, as Tharanga Paranavitana
slashed a wide delivery straight into the hands of skipper Misbah-ul Haq
who held a sharp chance. Tharanga made six.Off his sixth
delivery, Gul had the experienced Mahela Jayawardene edging into the
slips for Misbah to make two in two, leading by example in the slips
after Pakistan floored seven chances in the first Test.Khan,
who took a career-best 5-38 to dismiss Sri Lanka for a paltry 197 in
the first innings, had Dilshan caught in the slip and then Mathews
caught behind by keeper Adnan Akmal.Sangakkara dispatched
Gul for his eighth boundary to bring up his 37th half-century before
Rehman's dismissed him and Silva in his first spell.Sri
Lanka were forced to make two changes from the first Test line-up,
leaving injured Prasanna Jayawardene and Nuwan Pradeep to include Prasad
and Silva.Pakistan replaced paceman Aizaz Cheema with Rehman.
