New fast bowler Saqib Khan's seven-wicket haul led Pakistan's comeback against Sri Lanka on a rain-affected day four of the first cricket test on Thursday.

Saqib's dream figures of 7-130 on debut helped Sri Lanka collapse to 446 all out after resuming on a formidable 404-4. Sri Lanka eked out a first-innings lead of 12 runs.

Pakistan reached 57-1 in 21.2 overs of its second innings midway into the second session when stumps was called at 3:05 p.m. for bad light followed by rain. Pakistan leads by 45 runs at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

At the crease were Azan Awais, on 22 after he was dropped on 17 by captain Kusal Mendis behind the wickets, and Mohammad Taha, one of Pakistan's four debutants who has followed his first innings half-century with 24 not out off 55 balls.

The 31-year-old Saqib made full use of perfect bowling conditions on the fourth morning with incisive swing to rattle Sri Lanka. The visitor lost its last six wickets for 42 runs in a seven-wicket first session after only one wicket fell on day two.

Saqib became only the fourth man after Mohammad Nazir, Mohammad Zahid and Abrar Ahmed to grab seven wickets in an innings on test debut for Pakistan.

“My strength is to bowl out-swingers and I did exactly that today under favorable overcast conditions,” Saqib said.

“Yesterday was a bad day for us because we couldn't bowl the way we would have liked to, but coach Mike Hesson told us in the dressing room that if we hit the off stump line and bowl out-swingers we will get wickets.”

Saqib kisses the pitchThe greenish pitch on which Sri Lanka lost only Kamindu Mendis on Wednesday sprung to life in on Thursday in overcast conditions.

In a relentless eight-over spell, Saqib grabbed 5-25 as centurions Dhananjaya de Silva and captain Kusal Mendis were dismissed inside the first 15 minutes.

Their 249-run stand was broken by Saqib off the fifth ball of the morning when he found the outside edge of de Silva, who couldn't add to his overnight 167.

Saud Shakeel, who dropped de Silva on 38 on day three, once again spilled a low catch off Mendis. But two balls later wicketkeeper Ghazi Ghori brought up another spectacular diving catch off Saqib's probing delivery outside the off stump to end the Sri Lanka skipper's knock on 119.

Sri Lanka rising star Sonal Dinusha, who has three centuries and two half-centuries in his previous five test matches, made 20 before he went for an expansive drive against Saqib and edged to the slips cordon. With his fifth wicket, the pacer kissed the turf.

Milan Rathnayake overtook Pakistan's first-innings score of 434-9 declared with a pulled boundary off Razaullah before Saqib grabbed two more wickets, including Asitha Fernando for Ghori's sixth catch behind the wickets.

Razaullah wrapped up a great morning for Pakistan by having Rathnayake top-edging a pull to deep fine leg.

Pakistan's only wicket to fall was debutant Tayyab Arif, trapped in front by Fernando on 11 in the third over. Arif wasted one of Pakistan's three reviews but Awais and Taha dug in in testing batting conditions to deny Sri Lanka further success.