RAWALPINDI: For 10 years, nine months and eight days to be precise, Pakistan were denied the right to host a Test match in their own backyard. That agonising period for the national team, as well as millions of fans at home, finally ended on Wednesday with the commencement of the first of two Test matches against Sri Lanka.

The resumption of Test cricket in Pakistan also resulted in the entire Pakistan XI playing their first Test on home soil while two of them — opening batsman Abid Ali and left-arm paceman Usman Khan Shinwari — became the 239th and 240th players to launch their Test careers with their debuts.

Like a number of other notable milestones in the history of Pakistan cricket, Dec 11, 2019, will now forever be remembered as the day when the country finally ‘regained’ Test status on home soil.

Over 7,000 witnessed the historic day’s play

There was a different buzz in the air when we reported at the Pindi Cricket Stadium just as the sun tried to break free behind the cluster of clouds. That lasted for just half an hour. The dull conditions forced the use of the six floodlight towers roughly about 70-80 minutes before the 9:45am start. However, shortly after half an hour into play, the lights were put off as the sunlight spread across the field.

By now the stands started filling up — a welcome sight seldom noticed in red-ball cricket even when India beat Pakistan inside four days at this venue 15 years ago — and by the closing hour there were more than seven thousand spectators witnessing the historic day’s play.

However, the one glaring issue that could be demoralising for both teams is the early closure at Pindi. Day one saw nearly 21.5 overs being eaten up by bad light, and with rain predicted for both Thursday and Friday, it is certain many more overs could be subtracted from the mandatory 90-over quota for each day.

During the early afternoon session there was a major issue which left everyone — particularly in the media centre — literally in a state of anguish when the communication system responsible for internet services broke down at around 1:10pm and was restored only after four hours.

This abrupt discontinuity of the system by the internet service provider enraged one member of the Sri Lanka media party to such an extent that he got in touch with Noordeen Mohamed Shaheid, the High Commissioner of Sri Lanka in Islamabad, to lodge a strong protest.

But all in all, it was a fascinating opening day for everyone present and for those watching it live on their TV screens in Pakistan and around the world. A new beginning for Pakistan cricket indeed!

Published in Dawn, December 12th, 2019