Sri Lanka staged a fightback after being reduced to 54/4 in the first session and reached 242/6 at stumps on Day 1 of the first Test against Pakistan at the Galle International Stadium on Sunday.

Only 65.4 overs were possible on Sunday due to rain and play will get underway early on Day 2 in order to make up for the lost time.

Vice-captain Dhananjaya de Silva put on an inspired show as he posted a back-to-the-wall 94 batting and more importantly shared two crucial partnerships to help Sri Lanka recover.

Dhananjaya, who was scheduled to bat at No.6, wouldn’t have expected to be called upon in the first session of the game but found himself doing just that after Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah bowled terrific spells with the new ball.

Afridi hadn’t played any Test cricket after hurting his knee in July last year and on his comeback, he took three top-order wickets. He became the fourth quickest among pacers from Pakistan to the 100-wicket milestone when he had opener Nishan Madushka caught behind.

Dhananjaya and Angelo Mathews (64) then stitched 131 for the fifth wicket before the former forged a 57-run stand with keeper-batter Sadeera Samarawickrama for the sixth.

Brief scores: Sri Lanka 242/6 (D. De Silva 94 batting, A. Mathews 64; S. Afridi 3/63) vs Pakistan. Stumps, Day 1.