History will record the significance of the day instead of the trivialities contained within it, though that is a shame, as the cricket was really rather good, report ESPN.
On a day where the breaks between sessions appeared to herald official changes in momentum, the ebbs and flows never really allowed either side to walk away claiming more than an equitable share of the spoils.
Even the bitterly cold morning and overnight rain that saw the ground almost completely submerged in the tarpaulin sheets Rawalpindi Ground hasn't deemed fit to upgrade since the previous century, wouldn't douse the spirits; people were queuing outside the ground since well before the start of the day's play. That they managed to get it to start on time was something of an organisational achievement, but Sri Lanka had a big call to make when they won the toss under overcast skies. Dimuth Karunaratne was brave and opted to bat, with makeshift opener Oshada Fernando walking out with him.
Mohammad Abbas was hauled off after three ineffective overs, and the lack of swing on offer would make it easy for the Sri Lankan openers to get settled in while the clouds above cleared. Shaheen Afridi was perhaps guilty of being too greedy, pitching full a shade too often, allowing the left-handers to lean into the drive and keep the scoreboard ticking.
Sri Lanka had lost four wickets for 30 runs inside 14 overs, and suddenly, the possibility of the tail being exposed by stumps began to appear very real.
But tea, which came at 50 overs - Pakistan's over rate was far from ideal - would signal an end to that quality of fast bowling once more. From a young attack, that is only expected, and any attack, however experienced, would find it difficult to sustain the sort of brilliance Pakistan managed for a whole session in the middle of the day. It helped Sri Lanka that Angelo Mathews was at the crease, the ideal man to dig in and remove the sting of any bowling attack, and Dhananjaya de Silva was a soothing presence alongside him at the other end.
Soon after, the 200 was brought up, and as the sun went behind the clouds and the umpires began to get fidgety, Sri Lanka saw their opportunity to walk away and come back tomorrow in less testing conditions. Only 68 overs had been bowled today, but for a crowd that has seen absolutely none for over a decade, even this curtailed day felt like a bonanza.