Test cricket returns to Pakistan for first time since 2009 as Sri Lanka tour gets underway

Naseem Shah celebrates with his Pakistan teammates after removing Angelo Matthews (Picture: AP)

Test cricket today returned to Pakistan for the first time in more than a decade as they hosted Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi.

Pakistan have played all of their Test cricket abroad since the Sri Lankan team bus was ambushed by gunmen during their tour in 2009. Eight people were killed and a number of the Sri Lankan party injured in the attack.

All international cricket was initially suspended in the country over safety fears, with Pakistan playing the majority of their ‘home’ Tests in the UAE, but returned when Zimbabwe visited Lahore for two limited-overs series’ in 2015.

More international white-ball cricket has gradually been returning, along with the domestic T20 Pakistan Super League, which features overseas players, but this week’s First Test represents a landmark moment.

Shah was a six-year-old the last time his country played a Test match on home soil

The tourists won the toss and elected to bat, reaching stumps on day one on 202 for five, with captain Dimuth Karunaratne scoring a half-century, while 16-year-old Naseem Shah took 2-51 for the hosts.