PESHAWAR. Sept 8: Pakistan were comfortably placed with 235 runs for the loss Of three

wickets at close of shortened play on the opening day of the first cricket Test against Sri Lanka here Friday, reports AFP.

Rameez Raja, making his debut as Pakistan captain, hit 78 Including a flurry of fours, while star batsman Inzam-amul Haq followed with 65 and was unbeaten at close when bad light stopped play with 12 overs still remaining.

Sri Lanka's medium pacer Chaminda Vaas captured two wickets and offspinner Muttiah Muralidharan got one. as the tourists laboured on a mostly hot. sunny day until clouds appeared toward the end.

Vaas drew the first blood after Raja beat his counterpart Ranatunga at the toss and decided to bat first. He had opener Aamir Sohail caught by wicketkeeper C 1 Dunuslnghe on 28 when Pakistan were 54.

Later, in the pre-lunch session., Muralidharan. who was most impressive with his line and length in the S|>ir-ited Sri Lankan attack, sent Saeed Anwar back to the pavilion with 50. with Pakistan on 102.

Before tea. which was taken when Pakistan were 170 for two, the play was held up for 10 minutes due to a disturbance caused by the throwing of oranges onto the field by some spectators.

Pakistan lost the third wicket, that of Its captain, who fell to Vaas after the lea break. He was caught by K R Pushpakumara.

The match attracted a small crowd, though It Is the first cricket Test here after 40 years.

The 16-member Sri Lankan team, which began the tour on August 28. entered the first Test bruised by a stunning innings defeat in a three-day side match in Rawalpindi at the hands of a home patrons XI three days ago.

In the fight against powerful Pakistan, the Sri Lankans will miss their key batsman. Aravinda de Silva, who has not come dub to English county commitments and Is likely to Join only in the third and final Test.

But, Ranatunga hopes to keep up the winning trend which his team set in March by clinching 1-0 a two-Test .series in New Zealand to register the Island's first such triumph overseas.

In the past 14 Tests bey tween the two countries’. Pakistan won eight while 9rl

Lanka won only one. Five Tests were drawn?

SCOREBOARD

Scoreboard'of the opening day of the first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka on Friday:

PAKISTAN: First innings Saeed Anwar C Ranatunga b Muralidharan 50

Aamir Sohail cj

Dunustn£le b Vaas 28 Rameez Rajac

Pushpakumara b Vaas 78 Inzamatnul Haq not put 65 Shoaib Mohammad not out 1 Extras: (lb-1. ^b-11. w-l) 13 Total: (fortlfree wiekeU) 235

To bat. '^az Ahmad, Moin Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis. Aaqib Javed. Saqlain Mushtaq '

Fall of wickets: 1-54: 2-102: 3-234

Bowling: O M R W

Wickremasinghe 16 2 58 0 Vaas 14.3' 1 49 2

Pushpakumara 11 2 55 0 Muralidharan 24 ' 5 59 1 Hathurusinghe 12 8 13 0

SRI LANKA: Chandika Hathurusinghe, Roshan Ma-hanama, Sanjeeva Ranatunga. Asanka Gurusinha. Arjuna Ranatunga (Captain). Hashan Tlllekeratne, Chamara Dunus-inghe. Chamfnda Vaas. Muttiah Muralidharan. Pramo-d/ya Wickrejnasinghe. Ravtn-dra Pushpakumara.

Umpires:' B L Aldridge (New Zealand). Mahboob Shah (Pakistan).