Shaheen Afridi’s late overs kept Bangladesh’s chase under pressure as the hosts moved to 336/4 in 95.6 overs on Day 2 of the first Test against Pakistan. Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das continued to grind out runs, with several close calls marking the closing stretches of the innings.
Quick facts
- Score at the latest point: Bangladesh 336/4 (95.6 overs).
- Bowler involved in the final over sequence: Shaheen Afridi to Mushfiqur Rahim.
- Bangladesh earlier finished Day 1 at 301/4 after recovering from 31/2.
- Pakistan’s Day 2 over count: 85 overs due to a slow over rate.
- Key partnerships mentioned: a 75-run stand between Mominul and Mushfiqur; earlier a 170-run third-wicket partnership involving Shanto and Mominul.
In the 95.6 over, Shaheen Afridi sent one down the leg side and Mushfiqur Rahim went for a flick, but missed the ball. Shaheen appealed for an edge, yet the umpire stayed unmoved as Pakistan did not take it further, having only one review left.
The next delivery, at 95.5, was short and wide, and Rahim chose to let it pass. At 95.4, the script changed—Shaheen overstepped into Rahim’s zone outside off, and the batter leaned forward to drive straight through mid-off for four, timing it perfectly.
At 95.3, Rahim worked a touch off the hard length and flicked it towards the mid-wicket area, finding the fielder. Two balls later, at 95.2, Shaheen bowled fuller outside off and Rahim produced a punchy drive through covers for a brace.
Earlier in this passage, at 95.1, Rahim pushed a hard-length ball on off to the cover region, taking the ball safely. The momentum then shifted to Mohammad Abbas, who bowled at 94.6 to Litton Das, with Das driving to the cover fielder.
Close catch and thin margin
At 94.5, Abbas delivered a ball that shaped away outside off. Litton Das stayed back and tried to play it out with his hands, but an outside edge sent the ball towards second slip. Azan Awais timed his reaction, bending low to take a one-handed catch, and the umpire referred it upstairs—replays showed the ball had bounced before Awais took it, so Litton Das was spared the dismissal.
Abbas then kept it tight at 94.4, pitching a hard-length delivery just outside off where Mushfiqur Rahim pushed towards point for a straightforward single. At 94.3, Rahim again tried to block a good-length ball outside off, but was beaten by the lack of bounce—another sign of how the seam and pitch were testing decisions.
At 94.2, Litton Das managed only a single, driving hard length outside off through point. At 94.1, Abbas slowed things down with a slower ball outside off, and Das chose not to play a shot, leaving it alone.
In the sequence that followed, Hasan Ali bowled at 93.6 and Rahim left it untouched. Earlier, at 93.5, Rahim faced a late-swinging beauty outside off and left it after shaping as if to drive, only to be beaten.
At 93.4, Rahim blocked watchfully, covering his line on middle. At 93.3, he continued to defend confidently to short cover, and at 93.2 he left a short, wide ball alone. The over ended with Rahim leaving another back-of-a-length delivery outside off at 93.1.
Mohammad Abbas resumed at 92.6 and 92.5, with Litton Das leaving the wider one at the start and blocking the nice full length at 92.5 to mid-off. At 92.4, Abbas offered Mushfiqur Rahim something fuller on middle and leg, and Rahim tucked it to backward square leg, scurrying across for quick running.
At 92.3, Rahim pushed to mid-off, and at 92.2, Abbas struck back sharply—back of a length on middle and leg came in, Rahim tried to block but missed and wore the ball on his thighs, leaving a dot. At 92.1, Abbas began with a fuller outside-off line to Litton Das, who eased it to backward point.
Hasan Ali then produced a maiden at 91.6, bowling short and wide before Rahim left it. At 91.5, Rahim played and missed at a good-length ball outside off with away movement, and at 91.4 he pushed a full delivery just outside off to extra cover.
At 91.3, Rahim again left a short, wide ball alone. At 91.2, he was caught in hesitation—an outside-off ball hit the toe end of his bat and rolled towards gully, showing how close the margin was even without a wicket falling.
At 91.1, Hasan Ali slowed it up with a delivery on off, and Rahim blocked it to short cover. Shaheen Afridi returned at 90.6 and Das pushed it to covers.
At 90.5, Shaheen struck for runs—Das rode the front foot to push a good-length ball around off, but an outside edge raced through the gap towards gully for four. A fifty partnership also came up between the two batters during that spell.
At 90.4, Rahim guided Shaheen’s short ball around off through backward point for a single. At 90.3, Rahim was genuinely beaten by a ball angling away outside the batter, with Rahim’s punch attempt failing to connect cleanly.
At 90.2, Rahim defended a good-length delivery on middle and off, and at 90.1 he left a similar one that moved harmlessly away. By this stage, Bangladesh had clearly continued their climb, with the innings shaped by patient batting and occasional luck on tight edges.
The larger context of the day also highlighted how Bangladesh had fought for time and momentum. Mominul continued to pile on runs and shared another vital 75-run partnership with Mushfiqur Rahim, though Rahim narrowly missed out on a century after being dismissed for 91 by Noman Ali in the 74th over.
As play closed, Mushfiqur remained unbeaten on 48, while Litton Das was not out on 8. The pair had built an unbroken 25-run stand to push Bangladesh beyond the 300 mark.
Pakistan’s bowlers struggled to sustain control through much of the day, with Abbas standing out as the most effective bowler. He returned figures of 1/51 and also had the best economy rate among Pakistan’s visiting attack, but Pakistan still failed to complete their full quota of overs, finishing with only 85 overs because of a slow over rate.
How Bangladesh set up the day
Earlier on Day 1, the innings gained a strong foundation through a captain’s century. Shanto played an aggressive role in the stand, smashing 101 runs with 12 fours and two sixes, while Mominul Haque anchored with a composed knock of 91.
Together, the duo frustrated Pakistan through the middle sessions and firmly shifted momentum towards Bangladesh. Pakistan eventually broke that partnership in the 53rd over, when Mohammad Abbas trapped Shanto LBW shortly after the century, leaving Bangladesh at 201/3.
Bangladesh also had to withstand an early collapse. After opting to bowl first, Pakistan’s pace spearheads—Shaheen Afridi and Hasan Ali—struck early to reduce Bangladesh to 31/2 within 11 overs. Afridi removed Mahmudul Hasan Joy for 8, and Hasan Ali dismissed Shadman Islam for 13.
Those early breakthroughs proved to be Pakistan’s most significant success for a long stretch, as Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque steadied the innings with a superb 170-run third-wicket partnership.
Playing XIs: Bangladesh—Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Ebadot Hossain. Pakistan—Imam-ul-Haq, Azan Awais, Abdullah Fazal, Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Noman Ali, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas.
As the latest over sequence shows, the contest at the crease continued to hinge on fine margins—edges, bounce, and decisions—while Bangladesh closed in on a dominant total with four wickets down at 336 as the session progressed to 95.6 overs.
