1st Test Pakistan v Bangladesh Day 1: Shaheen flies high as Bangladesh crumble

Pakistan has a firm grip in this contest after their bowlers put up a good show on the opening day of the Test at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.  By bowling out Bangladesh for 233, just before stumps, captain Azhar Ali will be the happiest man for he had opted to take the field after calling correct on the spin of the coin.

Match Summary

Bangladesh 1st Innings 233/10 (82.5 Ov) - (Mohammad Mithun 63; Shaheen Afridi 4-53)

Pakistan - Still to bat

At the Close of Play on Day 1 - Pakistan trail Bangladesh by 233 runs with 10 wickets remaining

Scorecard

Mohammad Abbas, at his probing best with an opening spell of 6.4.5.1 gave Pakistan a perfect start, more with Shaheen Afridi, complimenting his senior new-ball partner. In his first 14 overs he had taken 2-14 with 76 dot balls and 8 maidens to his name, when no other Pakistan bowler had even a single maiden over to his name. Bangladesh were 95-3 off 33 overs in the extended first session to allow for weekly Friday Islamic congregation in mosques.

On resumption the well settled Nazmul Hossain (44) threw away his wicket and his team were in serious trouble. His 59-run stand for the 3^rd wicket with captain Mominul Haque (30) was broken by Shaheen, who was easily the best bowler on show today with impressive figures of 4-53 to his name. The 19-year old left-arm paceman has adapted very well in red-ball cricket and

 

A 54-run fifth wicket stand between Mithun Ali (63) and Liton Das (33) was based on positive intent and it helped Bangladesh to go past the 200 mark. Tajul Islam (24) added 53 for the next wicket with Mithun and the score board showing 214-6 represented a good fight. At that stage Pakistan hit back to wrap up things by claiming the last four wickets for just 19 runs. With six of their players scoring 20+ but not going out to score big has been the reason for an under-par first inning total by Bangladesh.

The celebrated leg-spinner Yasir Shah, with figures of 0-83 off 22 overs, may now struggle to save his Test career. Out of luck and low on confidence, Yasir shall continue to stay positive and will get another chance in this game to silence his critics, including a number of former players. 

Teams

Pakistan - Shan Masood, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali(c), Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Rizwan(wk), Yasir Shah, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi

Bangladesh - Tamim Iqbal, Saif Hassan, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Mominul Haque(c), Mohammad Mithun, Mahmudullah, Liton Das(wk), Taijul Islam, Rubel Hossain, Abu Jayed, Ebadat Hossain

 

Match Details

 

Start Time: 05:00

Toss: Pakistan won the toss and decided to field

Venue: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi

Officials: Nigel Llong, Christopher Gaffaney, Marais Erasmus, Shozab Raza, Richard Richardson

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