Their resilient stand helped Pakistan attain 221-5 by the tip of the second day, trailing Sri Lanka by 91 runs.
Left-arm spinner Prabath Jayasuriya proved to be a key risk for Sri Lanka, claiming three essential wickets, together with that of skipper Babar Azam.
Sri Lanka batsman Dhananjaya de Silva had earlier made 122 at hand the hosts a decent complete.
Pakistan faltered of their reply earlier than Shakeel, on 69, and Salman, on 61, placed on 120 runs to regular the innings and thwart the Sri Lankan spinners.
The left- and right-hand batting mixture of Shakeel and Salman combined the suitable dose of warning and aggression, with 12 boundaries and a six between them.
The pair confirmed maturity in tackling the spinners through the use of their ft to get to the pitch of the ball, with Pakistan scoring at almost 5 runs an over.
Sri Lanka had come out roaring when tempo bowler Kasun Rajitha received Imam-ul-Haq out for one and Jayasuriya despatched again Abdullah Shafique for 19.
The left-handed Shan Masood hit again as he smashed 39 off 30 balls however fell lbw to Ramesh Mendis, who was denied the wicket by the on-field umpire earlier than Sri Lanka efficiently reviewed.
Azam fell when he received an inside edge onto his pads and the ball looped to quick leg, taken by wicketkeeper Sadeera Samarawickrama.
De Silva earlier moved from his in a single day 94 to register his tenth Test ton in his fiftieth match to bolster Sri Lanka’s place from a shaky 54-4 on Sunday.
Pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, fellow fast Naseem Shah and leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed ended on three wickets every to bowl out Sri Lanka and lunch was referred to as.
The second day’s play started early with revised timings for every of the three classes and de Silva quickly received to his hundred off Shaheen.
De Silva, who smashed 12 fours and three sixes, received helpful runs with the decrease order earlier than he lastly fell to Naseem, who struck twice after Pakistan took the second new ball.
(With AFP Inputs)
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com