RAWALPINDI: Debutant fast bowler Saqib Khan produced a memorable seven-wicket haul to trigger a dramatic Sri Lankan collapse before rain and bad light interrupted Pakistan’s push for a lead on the fourth day of the first Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
Saqib claimed seven wickets for 130 runs in 34 overs as Sri Lanka, who had resumed at 404-4, were dismissed for 446 in 117.2 overs, giving the visitors a slender 12-run first-innings lead. Pakistan reached 57-1 in their second innings when bad light and rain brought an early end to play, taking their overall lead to 45.
Openers Azan Awais and Mohammad Taha were unbeaten on 22 and 24 respectively when the players left the field, with Pakistan having lost only Tayyab Arif, who was trapped lbw by Asitha Fernando for 11 shortly before lunch.
Saqib’s performance transformed the contest after Sri Lanka had dominated the previous day through an imposing fifth-wicket partnership between Dhananjaya de Silva and captain Kusal Mendis. The pair had added an unbeaten 249 to put the visitors within sight of a substantial first-innings advantage.
Pakistan, however, returned with renewed purpose under overcast skies. Saqib struck in the very first over of the morning, removing De Silva for 167 without adding to his overnight score.
The experienced batter, who had struck 20 fours in a marathon 246-ball innings, edged an away-swinging delivery to wicketkeeper Ghazi Ghori.
Kusal, who had resumed on 117, followed five overs later after adding just two runs. Saqib induced another edge, which Ghazi held behind the stumps, ending the partnership that had threatened to take the game away from Pakistan. Kusal’s 119 came off 202 deliveries and included 10 fours and four sixes.
The breakthrough opened the way for Pakistan to dismantle the lower order. Saqib removed Sonal Dinusha for 20, caught in the slip cordon while attempting an expansive drive, before dismissing Asitha Fernando and Lahiru Kumara for four and nought respectively.
Milan Rathnayake was caught in the deep off Razaullah, as Sri Lanka lost their last six wickets for just 42 runs.
Saqib’s seven-wicket haul placed him alongside Mohammad Zahid, Mohammad Nazir and Abrar Ahmed as the only Pakistan bowlers to take seven wickets in an innings on Test debut. No Pakistan player has taken more than seven wickets in a debut innings.
Speaking after play, Saqib said he had entered the morning determined to make amends for Pakistan’s disappointing bowling effort on the previous day.
“We did not bowl well yesterday. When we returned to the dressing room, head coach Mike Hesson told us that it had been a difficult day but that we needed to bowl in the right areas the next morning,” he said.
“He had made a plan for us to bowl mostly around off stump so that we could get swing and the ball would carry towards the slips. We followed that plan and were rewarded.”
The fast bowler revealed that he had even written down his target before the match resumed.
“I was sitting in my room and had a pen and a piece of paper on the side table. I had written that I wanted to take six wickets in this innings. Yesterday was a difficult day, but this morning I decided to bowl in my areas and try to get them out,” he said.
Saqib, who said he had waited a long time for his opportunity after working hard in domestic cricket, urged young players to remain patient.
“My advice to youngsters is to work hard and wait for their time. I got cricket quite late and started late as well. Better late than never,” he said.
He also credited senior teammates Mohammad Abbas, Saud Shakeel and Babar Azam for guiding him on the field, while identifying James Anderson as a bowler whose seam-bowling skills he admired.
Pakistan’s bowlers had struggled to contain De Silva and Kusal on the third day, but the overcast conditions on Thursday appeared to assist the seamers. Saqib said the weather had helped him find rhythm, although he stressed that disciplined bowling remained essential.
“When the weather is like this, fast bowlers get a lot of support. It helps them bowl in a good rhythm, but we also have to hit the right areas to make the most of the conditions,” he said.
Pakistan’s reply began cautiously, with Fernando removing Tayyab before Azan and Taha steadied the innings. The hosts will now look to extend their advantage when play resumes, although further rain is forecast for Friday.
With more than 100 overs already lost to rain and bad light during the match, a draw appears increasingly likely, despite the assistance the pitch has offered the seamers on the fourth day. The second and final Test, also scheduled in Rawalpindi, begins on November 17.
Scoreboard
PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 434-9 decl (Saud Shakeel 93, Tayyab Arif 57, Arafat Minhas 52; A. Fernando 3-107, D. Madushanka 3-108)
SRI LANKA (1st Innings, overnight 404-4):
L. Udara c Ghazi b Saqib42
P. Sooriyabandara c Ghazi b Abbas0
D. Chandimal c Salman b Saqib1
K.D. Mendis C Ghazi b Abbas58
D. de Silva c Ghazi b Saqib167
K. Mendis c Ghazi b Saqib119
S. Dinusha c Salman b Saqib20
M. Rathnayaka c Tayyab b Razaullah12
L. Kumara lbw b Saqib0
A. Fernando c Ghazi b Saqib4
D. Madushanka not out0
EXTRAS (B-4, LB-3, NB-12, W-4)23
TOTAL (all out, 117.2 overs)446
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-7 (Sooriyabandara), 2-12 (Chandimal), 3-65 (Udara), 4-155 (K.D. Mendis), 5-404 (de Silva), 6-412 (K. Mendis), 7-432 (Dinusha), 8-440 (Kumara), 9-444 (Fernando)
BOWLING: Abbas 3-12-68-2 (1w, 3nb), Saqib 34-5-130-7 (1w, 3nb), Razaullah 26.2-2-140-1 (2w, 6nb), Arafat 21-2-92-0, Salman 3-1-9-0
PAKISTAN (2nd Innings):
Azan Awais not out22
Tayyab Arif lbw b Fernando11
Mohammad Taha not out24
TOTAL (for one wicket, 21.2 overs)57
STILL TO BAT: Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Ghazi Ghori, Arafat Minhas, Razaullah, Mohammad Abbas, Saqib Khan
FALL OF WICKET: 1-15 (Tayyab)
BOWLING: Fernando 5-1-10-1, Madushanka 3-1-15-0, Kumara 7.2-2-19-0, Rathnayaka 6-2-13-0
Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2026
