Pakistan reached 281 for 5 at stumps on the opening day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Monday, with two debutants and captain Babar Azam among four batters to score half-centuries.

Opener Tayyab Arif scored 57 off 51 balls and Mohammad Taha made 51 off 105 balls, both playing their first Test, while Babar hit 50 off 58 balls and Saud Shakeel finished unbeaten on 57 off 112 balls. Sri Lanka had won the toss and chosen to bowl on a green-looking pitch, but the decision backfired as Pakistan’s new-look batting line-up took control. Bad light brought an early end to play after 67.2 overs.

Babar’s fifty was his 35th in Test cricket and his 70th fifty-plus score as Pakistan captain across all formats, equalling Misbah-ul-Haq’s record for the most fifty-plus scores by a Pakistan captain in international cricket. It was his 144th fifty-plus score in international cricket overall. He struck seven fours before falling to Dilshan Madushanka, caught by Kusal Mendis, shortly after lunch — extending his wait for a Test century to 41 innings, his last coming against New Zealand in Karachi in December 2022.

Pakistan had earlier lost Azan Awais for 30, and Salman Ali Agha made 16 before Ghazi Ghori joined Shakeel unbeaten on 7 at the close. Asitha Fernando was the pick of Sri Lanka’s bowlers with two wickets for 64 runs. The second and final Test of the series begins in Lahore on 17 November.

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