Malinda Warnapura and Kumar Sangakkara recorded opening session half-centuries as Sri Lanka made a confident start to the first Test against Pakistan.
Left-handed opener Warnapura scored an aggressive 59 off 48 balls with nine boundaries as Sri Lanka progressed to 120-2 at lunch against an opponent playing its first Test for 14 months.
Sangakkara, who added 90 runs for the second wicket with Warnapura, also completed his half century in the last over before the break and was not out on 51 with six fours off 85 balls.
Skipper Mahela Jayawardene — playing his last series before quitting the captaincy — was unbeaten on five.
Australian umpire Steve Davis turned down an lbw appeal against Sangakkara when he was on 43 but replays suggested the Yasir Arafat delivery pitched in line with the stumps and struck the batsman on the back leg.
Paceman Umar Gul (1-33) provided Pakistan an early breakthrough on a wicket devoid of grass after Jayawardene won the toss and elected to bat first.
Tharanga Paranavitana, a 26-year-old debutant, was out to his first ball in Test cricket when Gul found a thick outside edge in the first over.
After that early setback, Warnapura and Sangakkara settled in, with both playing some attractive cover drives against new ball bowlers Gul and Sohail Khan.
Arafat broke the threatening stand when Misbah-ul-Haq took a good reflex one-handed catch at second slip.
Arafat was the pick of Pakistan bowlers in a session dominated by the batsmen, taking 1-24 off eight overs.
Pakistan’s new captain Younis Khan used all his five bowlers in the first two hours but the flat wicket of National Stadium gave little assistance to his seamers or spinners Shoaib Malik and Danish Kaneria.
Pakistan handed test debuts to 22-year-old opening batsman Khurram Manzoor and 24-year-old fast bowler Sohail Khan. – Sapa-AP