Mushfiqur Rahim’s Stunning 191 Propels Bangladesh to 117-Run Lead in Rawalpindi Test
Thanks to an amazing 191 from Mushfiqur Rahim, Bangladesh has seized the lead against Pakistan in the first Test at Rawalpindi.
His innings was vital in providing Bangladesh with a vital lead of 117 runs before the last day of play. He played with patience, controlled aggressiveness, and a compact technique. This marked Mushfiqur’s first century against Pakistan in 11 Tests.
Key Performances an Match Scorecard
Pakistan 448 for 6 dec and 23 for 1 (Shafique 12*, Masood 9*, Shoriful 1-13) trail Bangladesh 565 (Mushfiqur 191, Mehidy 77, Naseem 3-93) by 94 runs.
Match Analysis
With an innings of 191 on a hot and muggy fourth day in Rawalpindi, Mushfiqur Rahim completely turned the tables on Pakistan by being a patient man, showing restrained aggression, and using compact technique. In the format, his eleventh Test century was also his first against Pakistan.
Any chances the hosts had of gaining an early lead in the first innings were scuppered by Mushfiqur’s two century partnerships. Riding high on his knock, Bangladesh amassed 565 runs in the first innings, and then later in the day, they added to Pakistan’s nerves by dismissing Saim Ayub, leaving the hosts down by 94 runs with three sessions remaining in the match.
Shoriful Islam and Hasan Mahmud, the opening bowlers for Bangladesh, swung the ball superbly in the ten overs that Pakistan had to endure. They created several uncomfortable moments for Pakistan to give only 23 runs by drawing multiple edges, of which only one carried, beating the edges of the bat frequently, and bowling suffocating lines.
After the fifth wicket fell in a Test innings against Pakistan, Mushfiqur’s century partnership with Litton Das did not survive long. He went on to add another hundred with No. 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, making Bangladesh the only side with two century partnerships. With his seventh Test half-century, and only his second outside Bangladesh, Mehidy joined Mushfiqur in a titanic stand of 196 runs for the seventh wicket, first loosening Pakistan’s hold on the game and then strengthening their own with a lead after lunch.
Bangladesh began the day 132 down and 316 for 5, which will make Pakistan regret the opportunities they gave up to allow a second session without a wicket. After a sluggish first hour, the visitors shifted tactics upon realizing that there was nothing on the surface for the bowlers and that Pakistan lacked a front-line spinner.
Mushfiqur was only a few inches away from being disqualified during the opening session when he was trapped in front by Mohammad Ali on 59, but the on-field call was reversed by a review. Ali used his mobility off the pitch to jab one forcefully into Mushfiqur, hitting him in front of the leg stump. But Mushfiqur reviewed successfully, as ball-tracking revealed the missing leg stump in the ball. Pakistan had none left in the bank when Bangladesh began the day with all three reviews intact.
After Naseem Shah’s brief delivery, which he was unable to control, was edged by Litton, Mushfiqur pressed the accelerator, particularly when facing the spinners.
Soon after Mushfiqur raced from 73 to 100 in just 20 balls, Mehidy, whose style was not as compact as Mushfiqur’s in the first session, collected fours in a row off Khurram Shahzad. He hit Shaheen Shah Afridi straight for four in the following over to reach 88 after punishing Shahzad for two more fours in an over, a clever swerve over a gully and a punch through the covers.
With 12 minutes remaining for lunch, Masood brought on spin at both ends as Bangladesh chipped away at the deficit and Pakistan was desperate for wickets. Mushfiqur seized the opportunity. In order to reach ninety-six, he hit Ayub for two consecutive fours, first against the turn over midwicket and then to the long-on boundary. In the following over, he pushed one to the leg side for two, setting off wild celebrations for his century.
It was already over 35 degrees Celsius in the second session, Pakistan had bowled more than 100 overs, and capturing the final four wickets fast would require extraordinary means. After lunch, Mehidy was much more confident, but Mushfiqur kept playing the ball late and directly in front of him to score runs.
Ali eventually resorted to putting six fielders on the leg side as part of a short-ball strategy for Mehidy, but his errant lines failed to produce opportunities, and Pakistan abandoned that strategy a little too soon.
Mushfiqur, on 126, appeared to have finally been removed by the sparse Pakistani audience at the venue when he poked a ball from Agha Salman to square leg, but in reality, it missed Saud Shakeel by a small margin. But Mushfiqur was unfazed; two balls later, he lofted Salman over Shakeel to establish the century stand, and Bangladesh quickly regained the lead. When he reached 140, Mushfiqur passed Tamim Iqbal to become Bangladesh’s highest run scorer in away Tests.
After Mushfiqur hit 150, he tickled the ball down leg where Babar Azam made a catch at leg slip to his left, giving him the actual opportunity to be dismissed. While this was going on, Mehidy reached his fifty-seven. To further cement Bangladesh’s dominance that day, Mushfiqur struck Salman for four over extra cover and then nearly for a six to the long-on boundary in the final over before tea.
Shoriful gave his side the attacking and late lift that Afridi had given Pakistan when he fell in the final session, edging Ali behind just before the third new ball was taken. Afridi took two of the final three wickets with the new ball, helping Pakistan take 4 for 37 and finish off Bangladesh‘s lower order.
Salman, the most hard-working bowler for Pakistan, bowled 24 overs in a stint that was broken up by a tea break during which the second session saw 16 overs in a row.
