In his first Test after relinquishing his captaincy duties, Dhananjaya de Silva’s sublime hundred headlined a dominant Sri Lankan response on Day 3 of the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. Dovetailing beautifully with Dhananjaya in an unbroken 249-run partnership was Kusal Mendis, who marked his first Test as captain with a century of his own. The duo helped the visitors get to within 30 runs of wiping out the first-innings deficit, with Pakistan managing a solitary wicket on the day for their toil.

Resuming the day on 131/3, Sri Lanka’s overnight duo of Dhananjaya and Kamindu Mendis began steadily as Pakistan operated on a tight radar. There wasn’t much help for the bowlers, barring the odd ball rearing off a length for the seamers. Saud Shakeel fluffed a fairly straightforward chance at first slip, handing Dhananjaya a lifeline on 38 in what would prove to be a decisive moment in the contest. Kamindu notched up his fifty, but Mohammad Abbas was soon rewarded for his persistent bowling, inducing the edge to dismiss the left-hander for 58.

Dhananjaya went on the offensive against Razaullah as he raised a fifty. Kusal endured a fidgety start to his innings and was squared up by Razaullah on a couple of occasions. At the other end, Azan Awais dropped a tough chance at short leg as Dhananjaya got away again. The former skipper continued to ride his luck, using his bat to push the ball away from dribbling onto the stumps before Saqib Khan put down a tough chance off his own bowling. In between, Dhananjaya also took a blow to the glove, but none of it perturbed him as he continued to bat positively and reeled off boundaries, moving to 87 by Lunch.

The visitors made hay in the second session as Pakistan found little assistance with the older ball. Dhananjaya flicked Arafat Minhas past mid-on to raise his 14th Test hundred, right after which Kusal stepped on the accelerator, breaking free with a six. A heated exchange with Razaullah followed, but the Sri Lankan captain continued to bat with purpose, lofting Minhas over his head for a six to bring up his fifty.

The boundaries continued to flow regularly as both batters pounced on anything too short from Razaullah. 57 runs came off six overs at one stage as a conscious effort was made to up the tempo with the second new ball not far away. And while the seamers extracted swing with the second new ball, the batters got through to Tea rather comfortably.

Kusal then started the final session exactly how he ended the second one - with a boundary, before he upper-cut Razaullah over the wicketkeeper’s head to notch up a hundred. Along the way, the partnership for the fifth wicket went beyond 200, while Dhananjaya soon got to 150 as Pakistan went through the motions.

Close to the Drinks interval, Abbas induced what was a rare edge for Pakistan, only for the ball to drop short of Salman Agha at second slip. In what then turned out to be the day’s final over, Razaullah got the ball to keep low and rear up on Kusal, while continuing to give him a stare. But both the light and Pakistan’s chances of breaking the partnership faded, and only 12 overs were possible in the last session with bad light forcing the players off the field.

Brief Scores: Pakistan 434/9 decl. lead Sri Lanka 404/4 (Dhananjaya de Silva 167*, Kusal Mendis 117*, Kamindu Mendis 58; Mohammad Abbas 2-64) by 30 runs.