New Delhi: Giant centuries from Mohammad Rizwan (171*) and Saud Shakeel (141) put Pakistan in a strong position on the second day of the first Test against Bangladesh Thursday. The hosts declared their first innings at 448/6 as they lost only two wickets during the day.
In reply, Bangladesh openers guided them to 27/0 in a tricky 12-over period before the stumps at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Rizwan and Shakeel continued their overnight partnership in the morning session of Day 2, having added 44 runs the previous day. The duo rotated the strike frequently, capitalising on loose balls to smash them for boundaries and maintained a steady scoring rate as Bangladesh bowlers struggled to get any assistance from either pace or spin. Rizwan became the third batter to reach fifty in the innings, guiding a well-directed short ball from Nahid Rana to the thirdman fence and repeating the shot soon after.
An authoritative pull off Rana gave Rizwan his first six, and the century stand was reached a few deliveries later as Bangladesh’s bowlers struggled to make an impact despite Najmul Hossain Shanto frequently changing his bowlers. They were unable to stem the flow of runs, with the Pakistan batters consistently finding gaps, and Rizwan regularly hitting boundaries to maintain a strike rate above 80, eventually surpassing his batting partner. The duo added 98 runs in the morning session and reached the 80s as they went into the Lunch break unbeaten.
Rizwan, starting the second session on 89, quickly reached his century with a six and a four off Shakib Al Hasan. Meanwhile, Shakeel was content to accumulate runs through singles and twos, reaching his hundred with a couple off Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Litton Das missed a couple of chances behind the stumps, giving Rizwan some reprieves. Bangladesh took the second new ball as soon as it was available, but this only resulted in more boundaries, as Pakistan crossed 300 and the fifth-wicket partnership extended beyond 200.
Litton attempted to create a chance when Shakeel was batting out of his crease to Hasan Mahmud, throwing the ball at the stumps after the batter had shouldered arms, but Shakeel was back in the crease in time. However, Shakeel eventually fell when he was drawn out of his crease by Mehidy, and Litton was quick to remove the bails, ending a significant partnership. Pakistan added 111 runs in the second session, continuing to dominate.
Agha Salman struck a boundary off Rana before the Tea break and batted solidly in partnership with Rizwan, adding 44 runs. Rizwan reached 150 for the first time in his Test career, achieving the milestone with a six and a three off Shoriful Islam. However, the stand ended shortly before Pakistan crossed 400, as Salman got a leading edge off Shakib while attempting a shot over midwicket. Shaheen Afridi then contributed a quick-fire 29 off 24 balls in a 50-run stand for the seventh wicket with Rizwan before skipper Shan Masood decided to declare the innings.
Bangladesh’s openers, Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan, were tentative at the start, edging Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah for a couple of boundaries. With swing and movement on offer, the two pacers repeatedly went past the edge, while Khurram Shahzad also beat the bat on a few occasions. Islam and Hasan managed to survive until Stumps, but a daunting challenge is in front on Friday.
Brief scores: Pakistan 448/6d (Mohammad Rizwan 171*, Saud Shakeel 141, Saim Ayub 56; Hasan Mahmud 2-70, Shoriful Islam 2-77) lead Bangladesh 27/0 (Shadman Islam 12*, Zakir Hasan 11*) by 421 runs.
