Shaheen, a left-arm quick, struck in his second over to send back Nishan Madushka caught behind for four after Sri Lanka elected to bat first at the start of the two-match series.

The pace spearhead had moved to 99 wickets in 25 Tests at the same venue last year when a knee injury put him out of action.

Shaheen, 23, has taken 134 wickets in white-ball matches since his international debut in 2018 and emerged as a star bowler for the Babar Azam-led team.

Sri Lanka were 65/4 at lunch after multiple rain stoppages.

The two-match series marks the start of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 participation for the two teams.

Babar Azam’s team have not won a Test since their victory at the same venue last year. The previous series ended 1-1 after the hosts bounced back to win the second Test, also in Galle.

Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Nishan Madushka, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Babar Azam (capt), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Agha Salman, Noman Ali, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi

Umpires: Alex Wharf (ENG), Rod Tucker (AUS)

TV umpire: Chris Gaffaney (NZL)

Match referee: David Boon (AUS)