Sri Lanka ask Pakistan to bat in second Test

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's captain Mahela Jayawardene won the toss and sent Pakistan in to bat in the second Test in Colombo on Saturday.

Misbah-ul Haq returned to lead Pakistan after missing the first Test in Galle due to a one-match ban for slow over-rates. Middle-order batsman Mohammad Ayub was dropped to accommodate the skipper.

The tourists, trailing 1-0 in the three-match series, suffered a blow when frontline seamer Umar Gul was ruled out with an ankle injury. He was replaced by fast bowler Aizaz Cheema.

Sri Lanka retained the same side for the match at the Sinhalese Sports Club that won the Galle Test by 209 runs.

Pakistan: Misbah-ul Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Azhar Ali, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal, Saeed Ajmal, Abdur Rehman, Junaid Khan, Aizaz Cheema.

Sri Lanka: Mahela Jayawardene (capt), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Tharanga Paranavitana, Kumar Sangakkara, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Prasanna Jayawardene, Suraj Randiv, Rangana Herath, Nuwan Kulasekara, Nuwan Pradeep.

Umpires: Ian Gould (ENG) and Simon Taufel (AUS) TV umpire: Ruchira Palliyaguruge (SRI) Match referee: David Boon (AUS).