RAWALPINDI (The Thursday Times) — The Pakistan Cricket Board has moved the second Test against Sri Lanka out of Lahore because of the city’s smog, and the match will now be played in Rawalpindi on its original dates, November 17 to 21.
“The second Test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka, originally scheduled to be played in Lahore from November 17 to 21, has been relocated to Rawalpindi due to prevailing weather conditions,” PCB spokesman Amir Mir said on Tuesday. He said the decision was taken because of rising smog levels in Lahore and worsening air quality.
The change means both Tests in the two-match series, which counts towards the 2025-27 World Test Championship, will be played at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where the first Test is already under way.
Lahore smog claims a Test
Lahore has lived under thick smog for more than a week. On Monday it topped the world pollution rankings with an air quality reading of 590, far into the hazardous range, and its air was again rated very unhealthy on Tuesday. Five days in the open at Gaddafi Stadium would have meant players and spectators breathing that air from morning to dusk.
Losing a Test to smog is a blunt measure of how bad the city’s winters have become. As a Thursday Times editorial argued on Tuesday, Lahore’s air needs more than a change of wind.
Pakistan on top in the first Test
On the field, Pakistan are in control in Rawalpindi. Captain Babar Azam declared at 434 for nine on the second day on Tuesday after five half-centuries, three of them by debutants. Saud Shakeel made 93, falling seven short of his first Test hundred in more than two years when he gloved a short ball down the leg side, handing Asitha Fernando his 100th Test wicket. Arafat Minhas struck 52.
Sri Lanka closed on 114 for three, still 320 behind, after bad light stopped play early for the second day running. Debutant fast bowler Saqib Khan took two for 54, removing Dinesh Chandimal with only his ninth ball in Test cricket, and Mohammad Abbas also struck early as Sri Lanka slid to 12 for two. Kamindu Mendis, unbeaten on 40, and Dhananjaya de Silva, on 22, steadied the innings under floodlights.
Sri Lanka have been touring Pakistan since early October. Pakistan won the T20 series 2-1 and then the one-day tri-series that also featured England.
