Pakistan 334-1 (Mohammad Hafeez 172*, Azhar Ali 92*, Taufeeq Umar 65, Angelo Matthews 1-45) vs. Sri Lanka

Mohammad Hafeez banged back into form with an excellent unbeaten ton and Azhar Ali was cruising towards his third century in the second Test vs. Sri Lanka.

Pakistan amassed 334 runs after consuming 90 overs for the loss of just one wicket and was heading towards a huge first innings total.

The second match of the three Test series commenced on Saturday, June 30, 2012, at Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo.

Earlier, Mahela Jayawardene, won the toss and offered the batting to Pakistan on a batting paradise surface. Mohammad Hafeez and Taufeeq Umar opened the innings in a vigilant manner and scored 18 runs in the first seven overs. Taufeeq was the most aggressive of the two and collected eight runs in the 8^th over with a couple of fours. He completed his fifty in the 18^th over with three fours out of the total of 62 with a contribution of 12 runs from Hafeez.

The first wicket association produced 78 runs in 21.3 overs when Taufeeq Umar  was caught behind by the wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene off Angelo Mathews for 65. Azhar Ali joined in next and opened his account with a four as Mohammad Hafeez had scored 13 runs off 63 balls at the end of the 24^th over. The lunch was taken after 28 overs when Hafeez boosted his scoring rate by gathering 11 runs in the 31^st over with the assistance of two fours. He attained his fifty on the first ball of the 36^th over with a four as Azhar secured his end while adding useful runs.

Hafeez opened up his arms after his half century and the boundaries were flowing from his blade at regular intervals. Azhar joined in the race by dispatching two boundaries in the 51^st over and the 200 of the innings was displayed on board in the following over. Mohammad Hafeez smashed fifth Test hundred on the first ball of the 54^th over with a single. He scored his first 20 runs on 73 deliveries and the next 80 came off 86 balls.

Hafeez continued his aggression after his ton and Azhar Ali achieved his 14^th Test fifty on the second ball of the 62^nd over. Mahela Jayawardene deployed six bowlers to dislodge the partnership but all of them were unable to separate the solid partnership. The only six of the innings was hit by Hafeez on the second ball of the 72^nd over and he reached his 150 on the fifth ball of the 75^th over. He surpassed his previous best score of 143 hammered vs. Bangladesh in the first Test at Chittagong, on December 9, 2011.

The unbroken second wicket partnership produced 256 runs, Mohammad Hafeez was still at the crease with 172 and Azhar Ali was marching towards another ton for 92. Pakistan piled up 334 runs in 90 overs with nine wickets in hand at stumps on the day one and can dictate its terms to Sri Lanka on day two.