SHARJAH : Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan hit unbeaten
half-centuries to help Sri Lanka recover from an early wicket to reach
170-1 at tea on the first day of the third Test against Pakistan on
Thursday.Left-handed Sangakkara was batting on a gutsy 72
while skipper Dilshan finally promoting himself to opener's spot was unbeaten 90 as the pair added 166 for the unbroken second wicket
stand after electing to bat.Sangakkara, who smashed an epic
211 in the drawn first Test in Abu Dhabi, also completed 9,000 Test runs
when he reached 28, hitting a crisp boundary off paceman Junaid Khan.The
former Sri Lankan captain is the 11th batsman in the world and only the
second Sri Lankan behind Mahela Jayawardene (9895 runs) also playing
in this match to cross 9,000 or more in all Test cricket.Sangakkara has so far hit seven boundaries and a six.Dilshan
was equally stubborn as he overcame a slump of form to score his first
half-century in the series and only second in the last six games. He has
so far hit five boundaries and a six.Pakistan lead the
series 1-0 after winning the second Test in Dubai by nine wickets. The
first Test in Abu Dhabi ended in a draw.Dilshan's elevation
to the top meant opener Lahiru Thirimanne was axed while paceman Suranga
Lakmal was also left out to bring in off-spinner Suraj Randiv and
26-year-old paceman Kosala Kulasekara for his first Test.Pakistan were unchanged from the second Test.The
change at the top did not help Sri Lanka to a flying start as
Paranavitana edged the fifth ball of the innings from Gul and was
smartly snapped up by Younis Khan in the slips, with the score at four.Two
balls before his dismissal, Paranavitana was dropped at forward
short-leg by Azhar Ali, but the opener failed to capitalise on the
chance.Pakistan introduced spin at both the ends after 10 overs, but the batsmen remained untroubled.Dilshan
survived a confident caught behind shout off a short ball from Gul,
which seemed to have hit the glove, but Indian umpire Shahvir Tarapore
remained unmoved.Pakistan also muffed a chance to stump Sangakkar, batting on 68, when wicket-keeper missed a sharp Saeed Ajmal delivery
