Pakistan’s Saqib Khan wreaks havoc in Sri Lanka on Day 4, enters the record books with seven wickets

Pakistan’s Saqib Khan, third from right, celebrates with teammates (AP Photo) Pakistan fast bowler Saqib Khan made an immediate impact on his Test debut as he turned the first Test against Sri Lanka in the hosts’ favor with a sensational seven-wicket haul on day four in Rawalpindi on Thursday.The 31-year-old pacer returned impressive figures of 7/130 as Sri Lanka, who resumed the day with an impressive 404/4, were bowled out for 446. The visitors could only manage a slim 12-run first innings advantage after losing their last six wickets for just 42 runs.Pakistan replied with 57/1 in 21.2 overs in their second innings before poor light and subsequent rain brought proceedings to an early end at 3:05 pm. The home side now lead by 45 runs, with Azan Awais and Mohammad Taha in the crease.Awais was batting on 22 after receiving a reprieve when Sri Lanka captain Kusal Mendis dropped him behind the stumps in the 17th over. Taha, one of four Pakistani players making his Test debut in the match, remained unbeaten on 24 off 55 deliveries, having already scored a first-innings half-century.Saqib’s performance made him only the fourth Pakistani bowler to take seven wickets in an innings on Test debut. He joins Mohammad Nazir, Mohammad Zahid and Abrar Ahmed in the exclusive list.The right arm stimulator attributed his success to exploiting the conditions and sticking to his natural strengths, particularly the ability to generate cant.“My strength is to be able to outplay players and that’s exactly what I did today in favorable overcast conditions,” said Saqib.“Yesterday was a bad day for us because we couldn’t play the way we wanted, but coach Mike Hesson told us in the dressing room that if we hit the line outside the off-stump and fire, we’ll get wickets.Saqib breaks down Sri Lanka’s batting line-upAfter struggling to break through the day before, Pakistan’s bowlers found the help they needed from the surface on Thursday. The overcast conditions brought life to the verdant pitch, allowing Saqib to harass the Sri Lankan batsmen by moving off the surface.He produced a devastating eight-over spell, picking up five wickets for just 25 runs. The breakthrough came almost immediately when Dhananjaya de Silva ended a marathon innings of 167, breaking a 249-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Mendis.The Sri Lankan captain soon followed. Saud Shakeel wasted another opportunity when he dropped a low catcher to Mendis, but wicketkeeper Ghazi Ghori made no mistake two deliveries later to complete an impressive diving catch by Saqib. Mendis departed for 119.The debutant continued his remarkable spell by removing Sonal Dinusha, who had been in impressive form with three centuries and two half-centuries in his previous five Tests. The lefty made 20 before taking a slide. Saqib celebrated his fifth wicket with a kiss on the pitch.Milan Rathnayake briefly kept Sri Lanka moving towards a bigger total as he overcame Pakistan’s first innings score of 434/9 declared with a Razaullah boundary. However, Saqib came back to claim two more wickets, including Asitha Fernando, caught behind by Ghori.Razaullah then ended Sri Lanka’s innings by dismissing Rathnayake, who hit a pull to deep fine leg.Pakistan hold the advantage despite an early setbackPakistan also lost a wicket during their second innings, with debutant Tayyab Arif trapped in front by Fernando for 11 in the third over. Arif’s appeal came after Pakistan failed to use one of the three reviews available.However, Awais and Taha showed patience in the tough batting conditions and prevented Sri Lanka from making another run before the weather intervened.With a lead of 45 runs and nine wickets remaining, Pakistan will look to build on Saqib’s excellent contribution when play resumes on the final day.