Bangladesh send Pakistan to bat in series-deciding Rawalpindi Test

Bangladesh won the toss and sent Pakistan in to bat in the second Test Saturday after the first day’s washout Friday due to rain in Rawalpindi.

Pakistan have only four days to square the two-match series after they lost the first Test, also in Rawalpindi, by 10 wickets.

Bangladesh, whose win was their first in 14 Tests against Pakistan, brought in fast bowler Taskin Ahmed for unfit Shoriful Islam.

Pakistan rested new-ball bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, bringing in fast bowler Mir Hamza and spinner Abrar Ahmed.

The two-match series is part of World Test Championship’s third cycle.

Pakistan have left out pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi to spend with his newly born son.

“Shaheen Afridi is playing all three formats and also recently he became father and team management wants him to spend some time with his family,” Pakistan’s red-ball coach Jason Gillespie had said.

Notably, Shaheen Afridi had a forgettable outing in the first Test as he managed only two wickets in the first innings.

Teams: 

Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Saim Ayub, Agha Salman, Abrar Ahmed

Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nahid Rana, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed

Umpires: Michael Gough (ENG) and Adrian Holdstock (RSA)

Third umpire: Richard Kettleborough (ENG)

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)

With additional input from AFP