Saki Khan takes seven wickets on Test debut as Pakistan and Sri Lanka battle in Rawalpindi

Match Action

Pakistan and Sri Lanka are playing the first match of their two-match Test series at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The third day of the match saw high-voltage drama on the field when Pakistani fast bowler Sakib Khan took seven wickets on his Test debut, while a heated verbal exchange also took place between Pakistani bowler Razaullah and former Sri Lankan captain Dhananjaya de Silva during the seventieth over of Sri Lanka's innings.

Record Debut

Sakib Khan bowled thirty-four overs and conceded one hundred and thirty runs to claim seven wickets, becoming the fourth Pakistani bowler to take seven wickets on a Test debut after Mohammad Nazir, Mohammad Zahid, and Abrar Ahmed. He is only the second fast bowler from Pakistan after Mohammad Zahid to achieve this feat on debut, and the first bowler aged thirty or older to take seven wickets in a single innings on a Test debut. Meanwhile, Razaullah used a series of short balls against de Silva, who responded by smiling during the argument.

Momentum Shift

Pakistan had earlier declared their first inning at four hundred thirty-four for nine, where Saud Shakeel missed a century by scoring ninety-three runs, and Babar Azam, Mohammad Taha, Tayyab Arif, and Arafat Minhas hit half-centuries. Sri Lanka initially slipped to one hundred fifty for four before Dhananjaya de Silva and captain Kusal Mendis formed an unbeaten two hundred forty-nine-run partnership for the fifth wicket, with both players scoring centuries to take the team to four hundred four for four at stumps on day three.

Final Collapse

On the fourth day, Sakib turned the match around by removing de Silva in the very first over for one hundred sixty-seven, and then dismissed Kusal Mendis for one hundred nineteen. Sakib completed his five-wicket haul by getting Sonal Dinusha out for twenty, and later sent Lahiru Kumara and Asitha Fernando back to the pavilion. Sri Lanka lost their last six wickets for just forty-two runs and were bowled out for four hundred forty-six.

Context

Test cricket often shifts dramatically over five days as pitch conditions change and bowlers exploit new-ball movement or wear and tear on the surface. A strong lower-order collapse after a solid partnership is a common feature of long-format matches when a single bowler gains rhythm. Both teams are now looking toward the final day of the series opener with Pakistan holding a narrow second-innings lead.