Rizwan, Salman lift Pakistan to 349-6 at tea
Salman Agha and Mohammad Rizwan led a strong recovery as Pakistan frustrated Bangladesh bowlers to reach 349-6 at tea, which was taken early due to rain interruption on Day 3 of the first Test at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium today.
The pair shared a 119-run stand for the sixth wicket after Pakistan had slumped to 251-5, losing four wickets in the morning session.
Bangladesh, however, fought back through left-arm spinner Taijul Islam, who broke the partnership by dismissing Rizwan for 59. Rain arrived shortly after the wicket, prompting the umpires to call for tea 20 minutes ahead of schedule.
Salman Agha was unbeaten on 55 at the break.
Bangladesh had earlier posted 413 in their first innings, riding on captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 101, Mominul Haque’s 91 and Mushfiqur Rahim’s 71.
Pakistan still trailed by 64 runs at tea.
Resuming the day at 179-1, Pakistan looked set to build a commanding total with debutant Azan Awais continuing from where he left off on the previous day.
But Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed sparked a Bangladesh fightback, sharing four wickets for just 20 runs in the opening hour.
Azan, who became the 15th Pakistan batter and seventh opener to score a century on Test debut, was eventually dismissed for 103 off 165 balls, striking 14 fours. Fellow debutant Abdullah Fazal made 60 but could not emulate Azan’s feat.
Miraz finished the session with 3-94 through his crafty off-spin, while Taskin claimed 2-70.
Azan began the morning fluently, hitting two boundaries in the first four overs to move to 99 before nudging Nahid Rana to point for a single that brought up his century from 153 deliveries.
His impressive innings ended when he edged a Taskin delivery to slip, handing the pacer his 50th Test wicket. With the milestone, Taskin became only the third Bangladeshi fast bowler after Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Shahadat Hossain Rajib to reach 50 Test wickets.
Taskin then removed Pakistan captain Shan Masood for 9 to trigger a mini collapse as Pakistan lost three wickets for four runs.
Miraz struck twice more, including the wicket of Abdullah Fazal.