Sri Lanka were 0-69 at lunch after electing to bat on Thursday in the second and final Test against Pakistan at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo.
Upul Tharanga was unbeaten on 28 and Kaushal Silva was not out 38, the pair emerging unscathed from the morning session on a good batting wicket.
Left-handed Tharanga survived a difficult stumping chance when he was on 24 as a ball from spinner Saeed Ajmal rose alarmingly and struck wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed on the left ear.
Sri Lanka made two changes from the side that won the first Test in Galle by seven wickets to take the lead in the two-match series.
Left-arm seamer Chanaka Welegedara and batsman Lahiru Thirimanne replaced injured duo Shaminda Eranga and Kithuruwan Vithanage.
Pakistan left out lanky fast bowler Mohammad Talha to play left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz.
The match is the last one for Sri Lanka’s former captain Mahela Jayawardene, 37, who will end his 149-Test career to play only one-day internationals until next year’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The SSC, which has been Jayawardene’s home ground since his early days, was decorated with giant posters of the star batsman, many of them highlighting his career-best score of 374 at the venue in 2006.
The Old Boys’ Association of Nalanda College, where Jayawardene studied, set up a special stand at the ground for his classmates, current students and the college band.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s former spin great Iqbal Qasim has urged the country’s cricket chiefs to groom more young slow bowlers after the reporting of Ajmal for a suspect action.
The umpires and match referee voiced concerns over a number of the 36-year-old offspinner’s deliveries during Pakistan’s seven-wicket loss to Sri Lanka in the first Test at Galle.
Under International Cricket Council rules, Ajmal is required to undergo tests within 21 days of the report.
If biomechanical assessment of Ajmal’s action proves it is illegal, he will be banned, just like Sri Lanka’s Sachitra Senanayake and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson were last month.
Qasim said the incident should force Pakistan to think hard about who could replace Ajmal, one of the world’s best spinners of recent years.
“We hope Ajmal is cleared but his action (being) reported is a wake-up call for Pakistan before next year’s World Cup, because he is our main bowler and, without him, our attack is very weak,” said Qasim, who took 171 wickets in 50 Tests bowling slow left-arm spin.
Qasim said the Pakistan administration needs to work fast to unearth spin talent.
“We now need to groom some youngsters for the future in our national cricket academy and the coach hired for spinners should not be on tour with the team, but should do work at the academy to give us spinners for future,” Qasim said.
