Pakistan out for 172, Bangladesh need 185 to sweep series

Bangladesh pace bowlers Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana shared nine wickets to help dismiss Pakistan for 172 in their second innings on the fourth day of the second Test in Rawalpindi on Monday.

Hasan took 5-43 and Nahid finished with 4-44 to leave Bangladesh needing 185 runs for a 2-0 series win.

Salman Agha top-scored for the hosts with 47 while Mohammad Rizwan made 43.

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.

In reply, Zakir Hasan with support from Shadman Islam raced Bangladesh to 37-0 at Tea after Hasan Mahmud-led bowling attack bundled Pakistan for a meagre 172 on Day 4 of the second Test.

Zakir is unbeaten at 27, while Shadman is playing at eight with Bangladesh needing 148 runs to sweep the series.

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.

Pakistan had lost opening batter Abdullah Shafique and nightwatchman Khurram Shahzad in the dying minutes of the third day.

Prior to that, Salman Ali Agha took the final two wickets, including top-scorer Litton Das, to book Bangladesh for 262.

Khurram led Pakistan’s bowling charts with figures of 6-90, while Mir Hamza and Salman bagged two each.

Litton scored a gutsy century as he singlehandedly Bangladesh’s total from 193 to 262, courtesy of a 69-run stand with Hassan Mehmud (13).

The wicketkeeper top-scored with 138 runs from 228 balls with the help of 13 boundaries and four sixes.

He was unbeaten at 83 as Bangladesh went to Tea with 193-8 on the board after dominating the second session against Pakistan.

Litton along with Mehidy Hasan Miraz helped Bangladesh recover from 26-6 as they stitched a partnership of 165 runs, scoring their individual half-centuries.

They attacked Pakistani bowlers and scored boundaries across all parts of the ground before Khurram caught and bowled Mehidy.

The all-rounder departed after scoring 78 runs from 124 balls with the help of twelve boundaries and one six. Meanwhile, Taskin Ahmed also fell to Khurram on the stroke of Tea on Day 3.

Earlier, Bangladesh openers Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan started the day with 10/0 on the board.

However, they could not add much to the total as Khurram Shahzad bowled a brilliant spell of classic pace bowling, leaving the Bangladesh batters completely bewildered.

In just the fourth over of the day, he took out Zakir with a skilful delivery on the last ball courtesy of an easy catch by Abrar Ahmed.

On the first ball of his next over, Khurram cleaned up Shadman with an inswinger. He missed the hat trick but he castled Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto in the same over.

Bangladesh lead the two-match series 1-0 after winning the first Test in Rawalpindi, their first victory over Pakistan in 14 attempts.