Rain washes out second day’s play after just ten overs

Ground staff busy covering the playing field 
Pic by Kushan Pathiraja   

By Shehan Daniel at the SSC
If Sri Lanka feared a long day out in the field with Pakistan piling on the runs, as is customary on the second day of a Test at the SSC grounds, they were spared of that with rain allowing just 10 overs of play yesterday.   
This does not bode well for Sri Lanka however, who need to win this Test to draw the series, after losing the first Test in Galle by four wickets last week.   

Pakistan started the day 21 runs in arrears and surged ahead to gain a 12-run lead, in a rather trouble-free passage of play with Abdullah Shafique moving onto 87 not out and Babar Azam unbeaten on 28.   
Their rate of scoring may have been below that of the first day, when they raked in over five runs an over, but both Shafique and Azam found the boundary – the latter hitting two fours and a six before the rain interruption.   
That happened at 10:43 a.m. with Pakistan on 178 for 2, and intermittent spells of rain ensured that no further play would be possible.