Sri Lanka win toss, opt to bat in Dubai Test

  Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat in the day-night Test against Pakistan in Dubai on Friday. 

Dinesh Chandimal´s team will look to become the first to win a Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates, whereas for Pakistan, it is a must-win encounter to save the series. 

Left-arm spinner Rangana Herath, 39, was the catalyst for a 21-run victory in the first Test in Abu Dhabi on Monday, as he took 6-43 to foil Pakistan´s modest chase of 136.

The narrow win gives Sri Lanka a unique chance for a series win over Pakistan at their neutral venues of the UAE, where they have never lost a series in nine attempts.

They have won five and drawn four in the UAE since the 2009 attack on the Sri Lankan team bus forced them to play home matches outside of Pakistan.

SL XI: D Karunaratne, K Silva, S Samarawickrama, K Mendis, D Chandimal, N Dickwella, MDK Perera, R Herath, S Lakmal, L Gamage, N Pradeep

PAK XI: S Aslam, S Masood, A Ali, A Shafiq, B Azam, H Sohail, S Ahmed, M Amir, Y Shah, W Riaz, M Abbas

AFP