Pakistan vs Bangladesh 1st Test: Saud Shakeel and Saim Ayub Rescue Hosts After Early Collapse
Pakistan vs Bangladesh 1st Test Updates: Bangladesh and Pakistan played the first Test in a thrilling match that saw Bangladesh take the early lead before Pakistan was able to rally behind half-centuries from Saim Ayub and Saud Shakeel.
Bangladesh took an early lead thanks to Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam, but Pakistan was pulled back by the hosts’ pair of fourth wickets.
Match Scorecard
Stumps on Day 1: Pakistan 158 for 4 (Shakeel 57*, Ayub 56, Shoriful 2-30, Mahmud 2-33) vs Bangladesh.
Bangladesh took advantage of favorable circumstances to win what could have been a crucial toss and used the new ball brilliantly to remove three early wickets. However, half-centuries from Saim Ayub and Saud Shakeel ensured that Pakistan finished a shortened first day on a level footing.
When play was stopped because to bad light, Pakistan was at 158 for 4, much better off after the fourth-wicket combination scored an impressive 98 to save the country from 16 for 3. In just his second Test match, Ayub overcame a challenging early phase when facing the new ball before emerging with his first-ever half-century. After being elevated to vice captain, Shakeel maintained his remarkable ascent through the Pakistani ranks, becoming their joint fastest batsman to reach 1000 Test runs in his 20th innings, matching Saeed Ahmed’s 1959 record.
When it came to managing Bangladesh’s seamers, Ayub and Shakeel in particular took a proactive approach, frequently shuffling out of their crease to disrupt their lengths and limit the amount of movement they could produce.
The partnership between the two left-handers was ended by stumps for Bangladesh, as Hasan Mahmud persuaded Ayub to drive at a delivery that was slanted over him but not quite full enough for the hit. It was his second wicket, and it was conceptually similar to his first: the batsman was forced to take a risk by consistent good lengths against an infrequent, obviously driveable delivery.
With an unbroken stand of 44 for the fifth wicket, Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan guided Pakistan to stumps, the sole victory for Bangladesh in a 20-over post-tea session.
Ayub, Shakeel, and Rizwan’s alliances may have revealed one flaw in Bangladesh’s offensive strategy. In contrast to Pakistan, who selected four frontline seamers for this Test match, Bangladesh chose two spin-bowling all-rounders and three seamers.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, an offspinner, was sent in at the beginning of the 14th over with two left-handers at the crease. He took the brunt of a well-planned counterattack, giving up 24 runs in four overs. He didn’t bowl terribly, but this early in the match, Ayub and Shakeel went after him, using their full reach to clinically sweep him off a good length, as there was no real aid for the spinners.
Bangladesh didn’t bring on their second spinner until the 39th over, and Pakistan was as merciless against Shakib Al Hasan, as Rizwan hit him for two consecutive fours in his opening over. In six overs, the two spinners combined to give up 36 runs.
Picked ahead of the more seasoned Khaled Ahmed, the express quick Nahid Rana was also pricey; Bangladesh used him as an enforcer on a pitch that favored traditional line and length, but it didn’t quite work out that day as he went for 48 in 10 overs.
On the other hand, the other two quicks had a successful day, especially with the new ball. In a pitch where the ball swung, seamed, and occasionally rose off wet places, Mahmud and Shoriful Islam blasted away on a good length. In the early overs, both batted frequently, and Bangladesh didn’t have to wait long for the breakthrough.
After being limited to just two runs off his opening 13 balls, Abdullah Shafique eventually got it via a wide outswinger from Mahmud that was more akin to a half-volley. Zakir Hasan impressively seized the aerial slice that resulted from his drive, propelling himself full-length to his right at the gully.
The man with the left arm With his line in the fifth-stump channel, Shoriful tried both Ayub and Pakistani skipper Shan Masood, mainly swinging the ball away from the left-handers but occasionally getting one to nip in off the pitch. Masood was sent back by one of these nip-backers, but under difficult circumstances.
As Masood moved forward to defend, the ball caressed one or both of his bat and pad as it made its way to keeper Litton Das, who loudly called for caught-behind. Bangladesh’s man was declared out on review even though he was not given out on the field. TV umpire Michael Gough determined that a spike on Ultra-Edge constituted proof of ball on bat, even though there appeared to be a possibility that it had missed the inside edge and brushed the pad flap instead.
Bangladesh experienced another stroke of luck shortly afterward when Babar Azam misjudged a harmless delivery from Shoriful, brushing an off-target inswinger down the leg side into the left glove of an acrobatic diving Litton.
