Pakistan are 62/2 in 21.2 overs against Bangladesh as Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed continue to keep control in the middle phase. Shan Masood and Babar Azam have managed to steady the innings, though wickets have already fallen, leaving Pakistan needing to build partnerships to reach the kind of total demanded in the second Test.
Key takeaways
- Pakistan reached 62/2 by 21.2 overs, with Shan Masood and Babar Azam remaining in the chase.
- Mehidy Hasan Miraz produced sharp turn and flight, including a late over at 21.1 that sent Babar Azam away for a single.
- Taskin Ahmed’s spell included a boundary from Shan Masood at 20.4 and several dot-and-edges moments around the 20th over.
- At 15.6, Miraz dismissed Azan Awais via LBW to reduce Pakistan to 41/2 and end a solid start.
- Pakistan’s bowling coach Umar Gul said the team is confident it can chase down a 437-run target in this second Test.
How the partnership reshaped Pakistan’s chase
In the 21st over, Mehidy Hasan Miraz struck with quality in both flight and movement. At 21.2, he found extra elevation and then got the ball to grip after pitching, turning it enough to beat Shan Masood’s defensive commitment. The ball passed close to the outside edge and then went whistling past the off stump region, narrowly avoiding trouble.
One ball earlier at 21.1, Miraz kept it low and spun sharply into Babar Azam from a length. Babar was forced onto the back foot, but he managed to steer it wide of mid-wicket for a run, maintaining the rhythm of the chase.
Taskin Ahmed then delivered a tight sequence around the 20.5 to 20.6 mark. At 20.6, Shan Masood blocked on a length from outside off to cover. At 20.5, the ball was on the back of a length just outside off, and Masood attempted a hop-and-defend approach, but a nick on the inside edge sent the ball rolling toward the square leg area, with Pakistan not adding any extra runs from that moment.
At 20.4, Masood found the boundary. Taskin bowled a fuller delivery angling away from the batter on off, and Masood drove it neatly through cover to bring up four. The very next ball, 20.3, saw Babar Azam work a fuller pitch on off into deep point for a single.
At 20.2, Taskin targeted the hips with a back-of-a-length line. Masood hopped and tucked it to the right of Nahid Rana at deep backward square leg, but the set batter couldn’t find a second run and Pakistan settled for one. At 20.1, Taskin again offered width outside off and Masood pushed it to short cover after leaning into the ball.
After a brief pause in the chase, Nahid Rana’s spell was followed by Taskin’s renewed presence. At 19.6, Miraz bowled full and straight in front of the stumps, and Babar Azam eased it back toward the bowler. At 19.5, Miraz created a small batting mix-up, but the danger was averted: Shan Masood cut it to point, hesitated briefly, then completed the single cleanly before the throw arrived.
Two balls later, at 19.4, Miraz dragged the length onto middle, and Masood whipped it to short mid-wicket. At 19.3, Babar Azam was given a fuller ball on middle and leg; he pushed at it and flicked it to the right of short mid-wicket for one. At 19.2, Masood cut from around off to deep point for a run, and at 19.1 Babar Azam showed good control by knocking a shortish, turning delivery from off to long on for a single.
Key wicket: Azan Awais falls to LBW
The turning point came at 15.6 when Mehidy Hasan Miraz dismissed Azan Awais. The delivery was full and included a touch of round-arm action with flight on middle. Awais reached forward to defend but played over the line as the ball drifted in, struck the inside edge, and then hit the front pad. The appeal for LBW was massive, and the finger went up. UltraEdge showed no spike, but ball tracking indicated the ball was clipping the leg stump on the umpire’s call, so the on-field decision stood.
Awais departed after a decent start but failed to convert, and Pakistan lost both openers. They were reduced to 41/2 and now required 396 more runs.
Earlier in that over, at 15.5, Miraz bowled flighted ball, full on off, with Awais solidly blocking forward. At 15.4, Miraz tossed it up fuller on middle, and Awais leaned in and smothered it to short leg. At 15.3, Shan Masood cut a short ball around off to sweeper cover for a single, and at 15.2 Masood clipped a full ball on leg to mid-wicket. At 15.1, Miraz started with a shade short delivery outside off that turned away; Awais stayed deep in the crease and drove it to deep point for a run.
Umar Gul’s message and the wider context
As the chase continued, Pakistan’s bowling coach Umar Gul expressed belief in the side’s ability to chase a massive 437-run target in the second Test and level the series 1-1 against Bangladesh. He said Pakistan need to manage Test scheduling properly to be prepared for long spells, noting that the team also plays fewer red-ball matches compared to other nations.
Gul also pointed to the way extended spells in Test cricket can take a toll on pace, especially because white-ball cricket is very different in demands. He added that the pitch had been good for batting on the second and third days, with the ball coming onto the bat nicely, while the first day had more moisture and movement. His view was that, given the conditions, “anything is possible” in the Test, particularly if Pakistan can chase down the target.
After that wicket and the shift in the batting order, Pakistan continued to look for stability. The sequence leading into the chase included Miraz and Rana tightening the line, with Babar Azam finding runs at key moments such as 16.2 when he cut a short, wide ball outside off for four, and further singles that pushed Pakistan along toward the 60s by 21.2 overs.
