Pakistan and Sri Lanka are fighting it out in the first Test of the two-match series in Galle. After opting to bat, Sri Lanka managed to post 312 runs in the first innings thanks to a stunning century from Dhananjaya de Silva. Angelo Mathews also scored a brilliant half-century scoring 64 runs and stitching a 131-run partnership with De Silva for fifth wicket. Sri Lanka, at one stage, had found themselves in trouble at 54/4 courtesy of a classy opening spell from comeback man Shaheen Afridi.
The left-arm pace bowler is playing a Test match after a long time and he troubled Sri Lanka batters upfront with his pace and swing. Shaheen sent back top three batters - Nishan Madushka, skipper Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Mendis - cheaply to leave the hosts reeling. In the process, he also went past Jasprit Bumrah in the list of most wickets picked in the history of World Test Championship (WTC).
The third edition of WTC just began last month with the Ashes, and Pakistan are playing their first Test of this cycle. Overall, Shaheen is playing his 21st Test match in WTC history and has now picked 80 wickets at a brilliant average of 25.08. On the other hand, Bumrah has accounted for 79 scalps in 20 Tests but last played a red-ball game for India exactly a year ago (July 2022).
Moreover, Shaheen Afridi also has a chance to go past two more India's bowlers - Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami. Jadeja is currently playing in the West Indies series and has picked up 81 wickets in 25 Test matches while Shami has scalped 85 wickets in 24 Tests. Jadeja will be in action in the second Test against the Caribbeans and Shami has been rested for this series. Afridi will again get a chance to add more wickets to his tally in the second innings of the ongoing Test match against Sri Lanka.
