Pakistan vs Bangladesh 1st Test: Rizwan and Shakeel Hits Record Breaking Tons
Pakistan vs Bangladesh 1st Test at Rawalpindi: Day 2 of the first Test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh in Rawalpindi saw Pakistan seize firm control thanks to outstanding centuries from Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel.
Pakistan declared 448/6 after the pair’s 240-run partnership for the fifth wicket put them in a strong position. Bangladesh ended the day at 27/0, facing an uphill battle.
Match Scorecard
Bangladesh 27 for 0 trail Pakistan 448 for 6 dec (Rizwan 171*, Shakeel 141, Ayub 56, Mahmud 2-70, Shoriful 2-77) by 421 runs.
Match Analysis
Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan, Bangladesh’s openers, managed to survive 12 overs, but on the third day, they will need to return and take on Pakistan’s four-pronged seam attack with a ball that is still relatively fresh.
When Pakistan returned from tea looking to increase their run rate, Rizwan signaled his intention by coming out and hammering Shoriful Islam for a big six over long on. After tea, Rizwan collected 37 off 42 balls to finish unbeaten on 171 when Pakistan declared, but he was still limping after the hit.
Pakistan lost one wicket as a result of their aggressive post-tea strategy, when Shakib Al Hasan’s cunning blocked Agha Salman’s effort to hit him against the turn, resulting in a sliced catch at backward point. However, Shaheen Shah Afridi’s fast runs came as well, hitting two sixes en route to an undefeated 29 off 24.
When Bangladesh’s batting started, Rizwan came out and maintained wickets; however, after 7.3 overs, he was pulled off the field due to cramping, and Sarfaraz Ahmed took over behind the stumps. Rizwan was on the field for the whole day’s play, with the exception of 4.3 overs.
Shakeel and Rizwan batted on for almost two sessions after adding 44 on the first day, but Bangladesh eventually broke their partnership with little over 15 minutes left before tea.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz gave the visitors their much-needed spark of inspiration when he strung up a teasing offbreak that forced Shakeel to defend with his front foot before dipping and turning sharply past his outside edge, leaving him scrambling for the ball and pulling his back foot out of the frame. After gathering the ball somewhere near the seventh-stump line, Litton Das finished the dismissal with lightning-fast glovework.
This was a dismissal that was within millimetres; Shakeel’s toe tip was on the crease at the moment the bails flashed.
A few over before, when Shakeel, who usually left his crease to negotiate movement with the fast bowlers, had shown arms to Hasan Mahmud, there had only been millimeters in it. Aware of this possibility, Litton had thrown down the stumps. Then Shakeel had plopped his bat into the crease and landed for a split second, too short for the TV cameras to record conclusive evidence, before the bails ignited.
The majority of the few tense situations Shakeel and Rizwan experienced throughout their 63.5 overs together had been caused by Litton. When Rizwan tossed up a bat-pad half-chance off Mehidy, he had moved alertly to his left to create a diving opportunity, but he had not been able to complete the move. When he had attempted to sweep Shakib, he had missed an even harder opportunity, down the leg side, off Rizwan’s glove.
Shakeel and Rizwan batted so superbly as they reached their respective third Test hundreds that it was evident that these times were rare and far from real opportunities. It also demonstrated how much the weather had improved since the beginning of the Test match, when Bangladesh had defeated Pakistan 16 for 3 by making full use of the new ball and early dampness.
The fact that Bangladesh took the second new ball ten overs after lunch was evidence of the changed circumstances, though the fatigue of the Bangladeshi seamers’ limbs undoubtedly played a part as well. By then, both batsmen had reached their hundreds; Rizwan went from 91 to 97 after hitting Shakib for a huge six over wide long-on and then hitting him over midwicket for four to reach three figures. They also welcomed the return of the fast bowlers with a display of exquisite stroke play.
In the eighty-second over, Rizwan drove Hasan Mahmud to cover point, and in the following over, Shakeel showed great poise to drive Shoriful on the rise through cover.
When Shakeel played that shot, the batters gave each other an embrace, maybe realizing that it was his first boundary of the day and that he had played 123 balls without a boundary in a relaxed, calm manner.
In the ensuing overs, Shakeel made up for it by whipping Rana off his hips when he deviated too straight and mockingly tugging Shoriful and Nahid Rana when they attempted to bounce him.
In the first session, Rana had also attempted the short-ball trick, at times making both hitters appear unnatural. However, it came at a price: 32 runs were scored in his five morning overs.
The majority of those runs were struck by Rizwan, who went from 46 to 54 with back-to-back falling ramps over bouncers angling into his body. He demonstrated more range against the short ball in Rana’s subsequent over, hooking him for a six over backward square leg.
With 65 runs in 100 balls during the first session, Rizwan was the fifth wicket pair’s faster scorer by a wide margin. Shakeel scored 32 off 77 without adding to his five boundaries from day one, despite having less of the strike and using it more subtly. Rizwan began the day 33 runs behind Shakeel, but by lunchtime he had caught up.
Though they used different approaches, their impact on Bangladesh was just as depressing. Shakeel’s defense in particular appeared impenetrable at times; he was always expertly balanced and consistently met the ball with the entire face of the bat, right under his eyes.
Bangladesh’s spinners started to carry a larger portion of the weight as the day progressed, and Shakib and Mehidy both overcame a challenging opening day in which they had conceded a combined 36 runs in their six overs, and they both did a commendable job maintaining the fort.
Pakistan‘s expert application of the sweep had been a major factor in their first dejection. In response, they bowled a bit quicker and attacked the stumps a lot more, using the deep square on the leg side for cover. Both made excellent use of drift, and Mehidy occasionally extracted strong turns as well.
