WATCH: Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq dives right at short leg to dismiss Sadira Samarawickrama on the last ball of Day 1 of the first Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Galle today (July 16).
Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first on a rainy morning in Galle. He bowled only 65 overs throughout the day and missed a session of play.
Shaheen Afridi, making his Test comeback after exactly a year, ran through Sri Lanka’s top order, taking three wickets in his first eight overs to reduce the hosts to 53-3.
Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva put on a century partnership for the fifth wicket, followed by another powerful 57-run partnership between Silva and Samarawickrama for the sixth wicket, which culminated in Imam’s heroics on the field.
Agha Salman’s ball turned and bounced more than he expected. Tried to turn back square but couldn’t control it.
Imam, who was standing at short leg, dived full length to his right to catch the ball that was drifting away from him, and the Pakistani fielders rushed and drove him into the crowd.
Pakistan helped break a threatening sixth-wicket partnership to take Sri Lanka to safety.
It ended on the last ball of day one with Silva unbeaten on 94 as Sri Lanka finished 242-6 on 242-6. Afridi was the top bowler for Pakistan with figures of 3-63. Abrar Ahmed, Naseem Shah and Salman shared a wicket each.
Watch Imam take a magnificent full-length diving catch at short leg to end the first day:
Subscribe Wisden Cricket YouTube Channel For post-match analysis, player interviews and more.