Debutant Saqib Khan takes 7-130 as Pakistan fight back against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi
Pakistan debutant Saqib Khan, 31, took seven wickets for 130 runs on day four of the first Test in Rawalpindi, bowling Sri Lanka out for 446 and leaving Pakistan 45 runs ahead at stumps.
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Saqib Khan waited until he was 31 for a Test debut, and then produced one of the finest first appearances by a Pakistan bowler. The fast bowler took seven wickets for 130 runs in Rawalpindi on Thursday, dragging Pakistan back into the first Test against Sri Lanka after the tourists had threatened to bat them out of the game.
Sri Lanka resumed on 404 for four and were bowled out for 446, a lead of only 12 over Pakistan's 434 for nine declared. Saqib struck in the first over of the morning, removing the overnight centurion Dhananjaya de Silva for 167, and in the next over dismissed captain Kusal Mendis for 119, breaking a stand of 249. The last six Sri Lankan wickets fell for 42 runs. Pakistan reached 57 for one by stumps, 45 ahead, before bad light and rain ended the day.
Only three Pakistan bowlers have taken seven wickets on Test debut with fewer runs conceded: Mohammad Zahid, Mohammad Nazir and Abrar Ahmed. Saqib, who took his first international wicket nine balls into his career when he dismissed Dinesh Chandimal, is only the second Pakistani fast bowler after Zahid to manage seven on debut. He finished the domestic season as the leading fast bowler in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, with 47 wickets.
The figures are from the match scorecard, as carried by the Associated Press and The News, which agree on the 7 for 130, the two centurions and the state of the game at stumps. The record books place him fourth among Pakistan debutants by runs conceded, not by wickets alone — Zahid, Nazir and Abrar all took seven too, and cheaper. What the day did not settle is the match: the final day begins on Friday with rain forecast, and the second Test starts in Rawalpindi on 17 November.
Debuts like this one tend to reorder a team's plans. Pakistan's pace attack has been rebuilt more than once in recent years, and a 31-year-old who spent his career in domestic cricket forcing his way in with a seven-wicket haul is the kind of story selectors remember. Whether he becomes a fixture depends on what he does next — but the first morning has already done its work.