Junaid Khan grabbed three wickets in the afternoon session as Pakistan took control of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi.
After a torturously slow morning, the match came to life post-lunch as Pakistan ran through the Sri Lankan batting line-up with a wonderfully committed effort on a docile pitch.
Junaid, surprisingly picked ahead of the quicker and more experienced Wahab Riaz, justified his selection with three for 21 as the designated away side limped to 115 for seven at tea.
There was no sign of things to come earlier as only the wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne fell before the first interval, the batsman edging a Saeed Ajmal delivery to Younus Khan in the slips, as Sri Lanka reached 50 for one, but they crumbled on the resumption.
The turning point came when the experienced Kumar Sangakkara was dismissed by a stunning catch from wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal, diving across first slip after Aizaz Cheema had induced an edge.
Opener Tharanga Paranavitana, the pick of the Sri Lankan batsmen, departed for 37 after being cramped for room by Umar Gul before Ajmal returned to controversially dismiss Tillakaratne Dilshan with television replays showing the captain had not got an edge.
That dismissal left Sri Lanka on 112 for four and it soon became 114 for seven as Junaid took a quickfire treble by claiming the scalps of Mahela Jayawardene, Prasanna Jayawardene and, first ball, Rangana Herath.
Suranga Lakmal saw off the hat-trick and Sri Lanka will be hoping the tail can wag as they attempt to make a decent first-innings total.
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