Bangladesh sniffs series victory as bad light forces an early closure on Day 4
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RAWALPINDI: Bangladesh opener Zakir Hasan played a quick knock to put 42 runs on the board without a loss before bad light forced an early closure on Day 4 of the second Test against Pakistan.
Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam will resume their innings at 31 and nine respectively with Bangladesh needing 148 runs to sweep the series on Day 5. Prior to that, Hasan Mahmud led the bowling attack with his maiden five-wicket haul to help Bangladesh bundle Pakistan for a meagre 172 in the second innings. Salman Ali Agha remained Pakistan’s top-scorer with an unbeaten 47 from 71 balls, laced with seven boundaries and one six. He added a crucial 27-run partnership with last man Mir Hamza (4), who became Hasan Mahmud’s fifth scalp.
Other than Hasan, Nahid Rana was the key bowler for Bangladesh with the figures of 4-44. Pakistan lost Mohammad Rizwan early in the second session as he got caught behind off Hasan’s delivery. Rizwan scored a gutsy 43 off 73. Mohammad Ali fell on the first ball, while Abrar managed to play 12 balls before Nahid Rana got rid of him, bringing Mir Hamza to the crease. Earlier, Bangladesh pacers wreaked havoc in the first session, taking four key wickets to leave Pakistan reeling at 117-6 at Lunch on Day 4. Mohammad Rizwan launched Pakistan’s recovery with an unbeaten 38 amidst a breathtaking spell of pace bowling by Bangladesh bowlers. Meanwhile, Salman Ali Agha was unbeaten at seven when the Lunch was called. Saim Ayub and captain Shan Masood started the fourth day’s play with the scoreboard reading 9-2. The two batters started positively with boundaries and regular intervals before Taskin Ahmed removed Saim after he had scored 20 off 35. Shan soon followed his partner as he got caught behind off Nahid Rana. The Pakistan captain scored 28 runs from 34 balls. Nahid dismissed Babar Azam and Saud Shakeel in his next two overs as Pakistan slipped to 81-6. Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha then joined hands to help the team recover, with the former scoring the bulk of runs to avoid further damage before lunch.
