Pakistan on Tuesday are hoping to avoid a whitewash as Bangladesh look set to secure their first-ever Test series triumph over Pakistan winning the second Test being played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Bangladesh began their innings at 42-0 on the fifth day. Currently skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque are at the crease, batting at 33 and 20, respectively, after losing both openers at 70-2.
Currently the score is 123/2 with the guests requiring just 62 to win with more than 100 overs to go.
Day 3 and 4
A day earlier, Pakistan’s batting lineup crumbled to a total of 172 as Bangladesh’s pace attack, led by Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana, tore through the hosts’ batting order. Mahmud and Rana were the chief destroyers, taking five and four wickets, respectively.
Pakistan, starting their day at a precarious 9/2, managed a brief recovery with a 38-run partnership between Saim Ayub and captain Shan Masood. However, the resistance was short-lived as Ayub, who scored 20 runs off 35 balls, was dismissed by Taskin Ahmed.
The middle order offered some resistance with Mohammad Rizwan contributing 43 runs off 73 balls, including five boundaries. Unfortunately, wickets continued to tumble around him. Abrar Ahmed could only muster two runs from 12 deliveries before being sent back to the pavilion. Mahmud then claimed the final wicket of Mir Hamza for four runs, bringing Pakistan’s innings to an abrupt end at 172. Salman provided some stability, remaining unbeaten on 47, but it wasn’t enough to push Pakistan to a more competitive total.
Hasan Mahmud’s performance was a historic one as he registered his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket, marking him as the first Bangladeshi pacer to achieve such a feat on Pakistani soil.
Earlier in the match, responding to Pakistan’s first innings score of 274, Bangladesh faced a dire situation, being reduced to 26-6 amid an aggressive pace assault in the morning. However, a resilient century from Litton Das, who scored a determined 138, and a gritty 78-run knock from Mehidy Hasan Miraz allowed the visitors to recover from their precarious position and post a total of 262 before being bowled out. Shahzad was the standout performer for Pakistan, taking six wickets on the third day of this closely contested second Test match.
