Playing in front of my people is a pleasant feeling, says Shaheen Afridi

RAWALPINDI: Playing at your home ground is a pleasant feeling, young Pakistani pacer Shaheen Afridi said on Thursday, after he picked up his second wicket on day two of the historic Test against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi.

The 19-year-old pacer from Khyber tribal region is among a generation of young Pakistani cricketers who have been deprived of playing Test cricket at home since a deadly 2009 terrorist attack on a visiting Sri Lankan team in Lahore.

The Sri Lankan batting line-up reached 263 for the loss of 6 wickets before heavy rain disrupted play.

Afridi, who removed Niroshan Dickwella with the second new ball after lunch, was the only bowler to pick up a wicket on the second day.

Bad light also wiped out almost 22 overs of play on Wednesday.

The lanky bowler seemed confident that he would pick four Sri Lankan wickets at the start of the next day's play.

Afridi praised his fellow bowlers on their performance so far in the ongoing Test despite poor light and bad weather hindering playing conditions.

"We cannot control the weather but playing well is what we can do and our bowlers have performed remarkably well," he said.

Sri Lanka have embarked on the first Test tour of Pakistan since the gun-and-rocket attack that killed eight people and wounded visiting players and officials, plunging Pakistan into sporting isolation.