Cricket-Sri Lanka ride luck against Pakistan to reach 142-1 post tea

Kaushal Silva capitalised on an early reprieve to hit his eighth test fifty and help Sri Lanka to 123 for one at tea on day two of the first test against Pakistan at Galle on Thursday.

Dropped on six in the morning session, the right-handed opener was batting on 52 at the break with Kumar Sangakkara (41) at the other end with the duo having added 93 runs for the flourishing second wicket stand.

After rain had washed out nearly four sessions, Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and decided to bowl, trusting his bowlers to exploit the freshness of the pitch and try and get the hosts out cheaply.

With a bit more luck and discipline, the visitors, especially paceman Wahab Riaz, could have at least dismissed both the openers by the eighth over.

The left-arm paceman, whose fiery spell against Australian Shane Watson was one of the highlights of this year's World Cup, had Karunaratne caught in the slip in his first over but it turned out to be a no-ball.

More misery awaited Riaz in his fourth over when Silva cut a delivery to backward point where Yasir Shah not only grassed it but also managed to hurt himself, requiring medical attention.

Riaz, whose struggle for rhythm was evident in the three no-balls he sent down in his six overs apart from being warned for running onto the pitch, eventually got a modicum of revenge in his fifth over after changing ends.

The paceman, who turns 30 this month, hurried Karunaratne (21) into a pull shot with a sharp, rising delivery and Sarfraz Ahmed collected the edge behind the stumps.

Experienced Sangakkara hit the first ball he faced from Riaz to the boundary and was peppered with a barrage of short balls in the bowler's next over.

It turned out to be a perfect second session for Sri Lanka who added 83 runs without losing a wicket to consolidate their position.

Silva opened up after the break, hitting Riaz for two boundaries in an over before taking two runs off Shah to bring up his patient fifty in 122 balls.

Sangakkara charged out to hit left-arm spinner Zulfiqur Babar for the first six of the match and was looked poised for his 52nd test fifty. (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)