Shadman Islam spent a minute short of five and a half hours at the crease in Bangladesh’s first innings in Rawalpindi. He held together an overseas Test innings for Bangladesh after the opposition declared on 448 for 6. An unheralded red-ball opener, Shadman Islam‘s steadfast 93 should do his career a world of good in the longer run and in the immediate term served Bangladesh quite well.
The visitors ended day three on 316 for 5, still 132 runs adrift of Pakistan’s total, but the mood seem to have shifted slightly in Bangladesh’s favour. Shadman Islam saw off crucial periods, particularly on the second evening, and then again after Bangladesh lost two early wickets on the third morning. He added 94 runs for the third wicket with Mominul Haque, before a 52-run stand for the fourth with Mushfiqur Rahim.
Shadman Islam, Mominul lead Bangladesh’s fight with the bat
Contrasting knocks from Shadman Islam and Mominul Haque led Bangladesh’s fight with the bat in a three-hour first session on Day 3 in the first Test in Rawalpindi. Islam’s hardworking 53 not out off 123 balls was complemented by Mominul 45* off 66 as the third wicket pair added 81 runs to help Bangladesh to 134/2 at Lunch.
With a bowling attack loaded with pacers, Pakistan managed only 36 overs in the session in which Bangladesh managed to score 107 runs at a rate of under 3 an over.
Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah bowled probing lines at the start of the day and kept posing questions and testing the edges. Naseem, eventually, provided the breakthrough as he ended a 31-run opening stand that lasted for 17 overs by getting Zakir Hasan to edge to Mohammad Rizwan, who took an excellent one-handed catch.
Naseem also troubled Najmul Hossain Shanto with short deliveries and mixed it up nicely with full-pitched balls, keeping the Bangladesh skipper guessing. The Bangladesh batters also weren’t able to rotate the strike much as the Pakistan pacemen sustained the pressure with their disciplined bowling, which meant only 12 runs came in the 12 overs bowled in the first hour.
Pakistan lost a review soon after the drinks break when Khurram Shahzad rapped Najmul on the pads as replays revealed that the ball had pitched outside leg. Najmul struck his first boundary in the same over and another four off the same bowler in his next over. But Shahzad hit back with a fine delivery that shaped back in to defeat Najmul’s defence and hit the stumps, ending the Bangladesh captain’s stay on 16. Mominul Haque and Shadman Islam then built a watchful partnership as they tried to lead Bangladesh’s recovery.
The conditions were testing for the batters as well as the bowlers in the sapping heat and an extended session that lasted for three hours. But the Bangladesh duo did well to overcome that and cashed in when the Pakistan attack looked tired. Mominul’s first four came when he opened the face of the bat to a Mohammad Ali delivery to guide it wide of gully.
It took a while for Islam to get out of his shell. Having scored a boundary off the 17th ball he faced, which was on Day 2, his next four came off the 94th ball he faced. He was on 29 off 93 but made good progress after that as he struck three fours in quick succession while Mominul also hit an elegant cover drive for a four off Shaheen. The third wicket pair helped Bangladesh past the 100 run mark in the 40th over and also raised the half-century stand.
Without any frontline spin options, Agha Salman bowled a few overs and created a chance when he lured Mominul into a drive but the ball landed short of backward point. Mominul then hit two fours off Naseem before Islam struck a boundary off the same bowler off the last ball before Lunch to bring up his fifty.
Starting the day on 27 for no loss, Bangladesh scored just 12 runs in 12 overs before the first drinks break, losing Zakir Hasan along the way. Naseem and Shaheen Shah Afridi were relentless with their probing in the channel and found enough movement to imperil on-the-up shots, and Bangladesh’s top three resisted them for most part through a combination of skill, judgment and a bit of luck.
Pakistan made their breakthrough in the fifth over of the day, however, when Naseem’s angle across the left-hander, and a bit of away seam movement and extra bounce, coaxed Zakir into a hard-hands push away from the body. Mohammad Rizwan – back as keeper after going off the field with cramps late on day two – flew to his left to complete the catch off the edge.
Runs flowed slightly quicker when the third and fourth seamers came on, and Najmul Hossain Shanto drove Shahzad crisply for fours through mid-off and extra-cover when he overpitched. But those were marginal errors from Shahzad as he bowled to a plan, bringing Shanto forward with fuller lengths while angling the ball into him from round the wicket.
Having habituated Shanto into front-foot drives and blocks into the cover region with a slightly open bat face, he pulled his length back slightly and got one to nip back in off the seam and bowl him comprehensively through the gate. Bangladesh were 53 for 2, and the seven overs before the next drinks break brought Shadman Islam and Mominul just 12 runs.
Through all this, Shadman Islam batted with poise, except for a couple of ungainly moments against the short ball when he top-edged pulls off Mohammad Ali and Shahzad, the ball falling safely in front of the long leg fielder both times.
As hard as Pakistan were pushing, however, the three-hour first session was always going to be a test for them. Having gone without a boundary through the first two hours of the day, Shadman Islam found his release when Shaheen served up a pair of freebies in the 24th over of the morning, driving a half-volley to the cover boundary and punching a full-toss back past the bowler. Then he stepped out to Salman Ali Agha and drilled him through the covers for another boundary to enter the 40s.
Naseem returned to the attack, and his day, which had begun so brightly, began to unravel with three fours conceded in his last two overs before lunch. Mominul hit two off successive balls – a cheeky uppercut over the slips followed by a premeditated step back and across to flat-bat a marginally short-of-length ball wide of mid-on – before Shadman closed out the session with a pulled four that brought up his fifty.
Shadman Islam and Mominul put on 94 for the third wicket, before Shahzad broke the partnership in the fourth over after lunch. The wicket was near-identical to that of Zakir: a fullish length from round the wicket drew Mominul half-forward to defend, and inward seam movement pierced the bat-pad gap.
Pakistan twice came close to getting an lbw soon after this, with Shahzad reviewing a not-out call off an in ducker against Mushfiqur Rahim and Shadman Islam reviewing an out call against a slider from the offspinner Salman Ali Agha. Both reviews went Bangladesh’s way.
As the second session wore on, Shadman Islam began to look dangerous, rushing from 64 to 93 in just 25 balls, hitting six fours in that time. Then Ali took a leaf out of Shahzad’s playbook and bowled him with the last ball before tea: once again, a ball from round the wicket that nipped into the left-hander and bowled him through the gate.
Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das cut down Bangladesh’s deficit with steady half centuries on Day 3
Shadman Islam and Mominul kickstarted the first big stand to bring to fruition David Hemp’s words at close of play on Day 2 after Pakistan amassed 448/6 before declaring.
The Pakistan pacers started well to ping the batters on the backfoot as they made slow progress. In the three-hour morning session, extended to allow for players to offer Namaz in the one-hour long Lunch break, Pakistan sent down 48 overs and returned with the wickets of Zakir Hasan and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto. Mominul and Shadman Islam then picked up the pieces and stitched together a slow but defiant partnership for the next 24.1 overs.
Right at the stroke of Lunch, Shadman got to his half-century and continued to grow in strength in the next session. Mominul Haque, who had shown a bit more urgency than his batting partner, was the first to fall early in the second session when Khurram Shahzad got one length ball to nip back and breach the batter’s defence to hit the stumps.
He departed for 50. Mushfiqur’s arrival paved the way for another deficit-cutting stand worth 52 runs. Shadman survived an LBW appeal through a review and began to chance his arms in the second half of the session. He took on Agha Salman and Naseem Shah for six fours to move into the 90s. Mohammad Ali then stopped the free-flowing batter in his tracks, dismissing him with a ball similar to the one that got Mominul. Shadman departed seven short of his second Test hundred.
Pakistan’s hopes of completing their comeback in the final session was thwarted by Mushfiqur and Litton. Shan Masood brought on Saim Ayub early after Tea and reaped instant dividends as Shakib Al Hasan became the off-spinner’s first Test wicket, departing for 15. Despite this big scalp, Bangladesh pushed back again through the two senior pros, who added an undefeated 98-run stand.
The two batters got adventurous after Pakistan took the new ball in the 82nd over as they each hit fours at will. Litton went after Naseem in one over, hitting him for three fours and a six to take the team total past 300 and his own score to a 53-ball 50. In the final over of the day, Pakistan lost their final review while trying to get rid of Mushfiqur, who ended the day unbeaten on 55.
Litton joined Mushfiqur at a pivotal moment in Bangladesh’s innings. Mohammad Ali had nipped out Shadman with the last ball before tea, and Shakib Al Hasan had fallen early, chipping the part-time spin of Saim Ayub to the fielder at cover.
The sixth-wicket pair took quick charge of the situation, rattling along at more than five an over and launching a decisive counterattack against Pakistan’s quicks when they took the second new ball late in the day. Bangladesh scored 67 off the last 11 overs of the day, with Litton unfurling some exquisite strokeplay along the way.
The high point of this came in the 89th over of Bangladesh’s innings – the 77th of the day – when Litton tore into Naseem Shah. He stepped out and chipped the first ball of the over straight back over the bowler for a one-bounce four, and followed up with an exhibition of pulling and hooking – two unstoppable fours and a massive six over square leg – to race past the half-century mark.
That over went for 18. Having conceded just 15 runs from his first 12 overs of the innings, and picked up a wicket in that time, Naseem gave away 62 in his last eight. Those numbers reflected Pakistan’s wider fortunes: Bangladesh’s scoring rate went from 2.97 in the first session to 3.33 in the second to 5.08 in the third. Pakistan, though, still have a 132-run cushion, and will begin day four knowing they are two wickets away from Bangladesh’s lower order.
They had to work extremely hard for the five wickets they did take, though, in conditions that were excellent for batting once the first new ball lost its shine. Pakistan’s discipline and persistence for most of the day, however, ensured that Bangladesh also had to work hard to earn their late scoring spree.
Day 4 Prediction for Pakistan and Bangladesh
Bangladesh trail by 132 runs. They have done well to stay in the game. Shadman Islam was the standout batter as the opener missed out on a hundred by 7 runs but he gave his side a solid start by adding 50+ stands for the third and fourth wicket. There was good support at the other end as Mominul got a fifty, Rahim is still unbeaten on 55 and Litton smashed his way to a 52-ball 50.
Pakistan’s pacers worked hard under humid conditions but just didn’t have any help from the pitch. They picked up 5 wickets but Bangladesh still have ample batting to get close or even go past Pakistan’s 448. Day 4 might give us a better picture as to which team has the advantage
Bangladesh’s response with the bat has turned all the focus on the pitch and Pakistan’s combination going into the game. Was it the right idea to play four pacers Well there’s still a lot of cricket to be played before that question needs answering. They were in a good position when Shakib fell to Ayub’s part-time spin but Litton Das launched a counterattack in the final hour and reduced the deficit quickly.
He and Rahim have added 98 runs and it has come in just 118 balls. The second new ball was taken and that didn’t work as Litton took Naseem Shah apart in one over where he smashed 18 runs. Pakistan need to break this partnership and getting into the lower order if they’re to gain a first innings lead. And for Bangladesh if they can negotiate the first hour then they will be in the driver’s seat.
On a 35-degree third day broken up into sessions of uneven length – including a three-hour morning session – to accommodate Friday prayers, Bangladesh’s batters weathered a period of early hostility before asserting themselves on Pakistan’s bowlers as the Rawalpindi Test witnessed a riveting fight for first-innings honours.
Shadman Islam laid the foundations for Bangladesh’s resistance with a 93 spanning more than five-and-a-half hours, and Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das built on this with half-centuries of their own. At stumps, Bangladesh were five down and 132 adrift of Pakistan’s first-innings total, with Mushfiqur and Litton at the crease, having added an unbroken 98.
A combined, dogged effort from the Bangladesh batters helped the visitors narrow the deficit to 132 runs on Day 3 of the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. Shadman Islam led the fight with a defiant 93, while the senior troika of Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das hit fifties to help Bangladesh finish on 316/5 at stumps.