Abdul Jabbar Faisal
RAWALPINDI: Two left-handed batters, Saud Shakil (57 not out), and Saim Ayub (56) scored half-centuries to take Pakistan’s total score of 158 runs for 4 wickets in 41 overs against Bangladesh in the first Test at Pindi Cricket Stadium Rawalpindi on Wednesday, as the match started at 2:30 pm due to wet out-filed owning the overnight heavy rain in the twin cities Rawalpindi and Islamabad.
After the lunch break, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and asked the hosts to bat first under the cloudy weather. Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub opened Pakistan’s innings, as the hosts faced first damage in the 4th over when Abdullah was dismissed at just 3 runs, as his score was 2.
Skipper Shan Masood hit one boundary during his 11-ball stay before falling prey to Shoriful Islam for six runs in the seventh over. Babar Azam was dismissed in the ninth over falling for a two-ball duck off the bowling of Shoriful with Litton Das taking his second catch of the innings.
Following the three early blows, Saim and Saud came together to take Pakistan out of trouble with a 98-run fourth-wicket partnership. The rescue act between the two southpaws was spread on either side of the tea interval as they batted together for 22.5 overs.
Over the course of the partnership, Saim (56, 98b, 4x4s, 1x6) brought up his maiden Test half-century before Hasan induced an edge off his bat in the 32nd over which was safely pouched by Mehidy Hasan Miraz in the slip cordon.
Saud contributed 42 runs in the stand with Saim before stitching an unbeaten 44-run partnership with Mohammad Rizwan till the close of play. For Bangladesh, Shoriful and Hasan bagged two wickets each. The second day’s play is expected to begin at 9.45am.
Summarised Scorecard (Day-1):
Pakistan Batting:
Abdullah Shafique (c Zakir Hasan b Hasan Mahmud) 2 runs in 14 balls
Saim Ayub (c Mehidy Hasan Miraz b Hasan Mahmud) 56 runs in 98 balls (4x4, 6x1)
Shan Masood (c Litton Das b Shoriful Islam) 6 runs in 11 balls
Babar Azam (c Litton Das b Shoriful Islam) 0 run in 2 balls
Saud Shakeel (not out) 57 runs in 92 balls (4x5, 6x0)
Mohammad Rizwan (not out) 24 runs in 31 balls (4x2, 6x0)
Bangladesh Bowling:
Shoriful Islam (2 for 30), Hasan Mahmud (2 for 33)
Pakistan Team: Shan Masood (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Agha Salman, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Khurram Shahzad
Bangladesh Team: Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das (wicketkeeper), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana
Match Officials:
Umpires: Adrian Holdstock (South Africa) and Richard Kettleborough (England)
TV Umpire: Micheal Gough (England)
Reserve Umpire: Rashid Riaz (Pakistan)
Match Referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
