Rawalpindi, 13 November 2026 (Ghufran): Babar Azam’s struggle to score a Test century continued as Pakistan reached 151-5 at lunch on the final day of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi, holding an overall lead of 139 runs with five wickets remaining. Sri Lanka made a strong start to the morning session, claiming four wickets under challenging weather conditions as they pursued a victory that would give them a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. Babar scored 34 before falling into a leg-side trap, offering a straightforward catch to the short square-leg fielder off Milan Rathnayaka, extending his wait for a Test century to 42 innings. Salman Ali Agha also became Rathnayaka’s victim in a similar fashion, departing for 13 as Pakistan slipped to 125-5. Earlier, Lahiru Kumara dismissed overnight batsman Azan Awais for 22 with the first delivery of the day, while Asitha Fernando removed Mohammad Taha for 24 in the following over. Sri Lanka had an opportunity to dismiss Babar on 22, but Kamindu Mendis dropped a straightforward catch off Fernando. Babar struck six boundaries and shared a 50-run partnership with Saud Shakeel for the fourth wicket before losing his wicket. At the lunch interval, Saud Shakeel remained unbeaten on 23, while Ghazi Ghori was not out on seven. Play was briefly interrupted for 20 minutes due to poor light. Fernando had taken two wickets for 20 runs, while Rathnayaka claimed two for 32.