Mominul misses ton, but Tigers in strong position after Day 1
Bangladesh lost the wicket of Mominul Haque in the nervous nineties, still finished Day 1 of the first Test against Pakistan in strong position in Mirpur on Friday.
Mominul was dismissed for 91, trapped leg-before by Noman Ali before Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das took the hosts to 301 for four after 85 overs at stumps.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. Mushfqur was unbeaten on 48 (107 deliveries) while Litton was batting on eight (35 deliveries) as Bangladesh would feel the day belonged to them after being asked to bat first.
The unbroken fifth wicket stand added 25 runs in 11.3 overs.
Bangladesh rode on a superb 170-run third-wicket partnership between Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque to reach 201 for three at tea on the opening day of the first Test against Pakistan in Mirpur on Friday, before Mohammad Abbas finally broke through late in the session.
After slumping to 31 for two inside 11 overs on a sporting track, Bangladesh wrested back control through the experienced duo, who combined discipline with selective aggression to frustrate the visitors throughout the afternoon.
Shanto led the recovery with a commanding 101 off 130 deliveries, striking 12 fours and two sixes en route to his ninth Test hundred. The Bangladesh skipper has now scored four centuries in his last eight Test innings.
Mominul, meanwhile, continued his remarkable consistency, remaining unbeaten on 64 off 139 balls with seven boundaries. The left-hander brought up his fourth consecutive Test fifty, extending a streak that began during the home series against Ireland in November last year.
The pair steadily rebuilt the innings after the early damage caused by Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali. Bangladesh crossed 150 shortly after the drinks break, while the third-wicket stand reached 150 in 225 deliveries as Pakistan’s bowlers gradually lost their early bite.
Shanto accelerated confidently after lunch, handling both pace and spin with assurance. He brought up his hundred off 129 balls before Pakistan finally found relief just before tea when Abbas trapped him lbw with a delivery that jagged back in sharply. Pakistan overturned Richard Kettleborough’s original not-out decision through review to end the marathon stand at 201.
Mushfiqur Rahim had just arrived at the crease and was unbeaten on nought alongside Mominul at the tea interval, with the home side firmly placed after recovering from early trouble.
Shanto, Mominul seize control with century stand
Bangladesh continued their recovery from an early collapse to reach 145 for two at the drinks break in the second session on the opening day of the first Test against Pakistan in Mirpur on Friday, with Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque frustrating the visitors through an unbroken century stand.
After being reduced to 31 for two inside 11 overs on a lively greenish surface, the hosts wrested back control through the composed pair, who steadily blunted Pakistan’s pace attack before gradually accelerating the scoring rate.
Shanto looked particularly assured as he brought up his fifty off 71 deliveries, striking seven boundaries and a six during his unbeaten 65 off 91 balls. Mominul, meanwhile, complemented the skipper with a measured innings of 46 not out from 97 deliveries, laced with six fours.
The pair added 100 runs for the third wicket in 148 balls, helping Bangladesh move from a position of early vulnerability into one of relative comfort. While Pakistan’s seamers continued to find occasional movement, the disciplined batting of Shanto and Mominul denied them further breakthroughs.
Mominul, Shanto wrest momentum back from Pakistan
Bangladesh recovered strongly from an uncertain start to reach 101 for two at Lunch on the opening day of the first Test against Pakistan in Mirpur on Friday, with skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque leading the fightback through an unbroken 70-run stand.
After Pakistan chose to bowl first on a grassy surface, the visitors struck twice early through Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali to leave Bangladesh reeling at 31 for two inside 11 overs.
However, Shanto and Mominul absorbed the pressure before gradually shifting momentum with positive strokeplay against both pace and spin.
The hosts crossed the 50-run mark in the 17th over before the third-wicket partnership reached fifty in just 70 deliveries.
Mominul remained unbeaten on 31 off 57 deliveries, striking four boundaries, while Shanto looked increasingly fluent during his 39 not out off 50 balls, which included four fours and a six.
Earlier, Bangladesh lost Mahmudul Hasan Joy for eight when Shaheen drew a faint edge behind with a delivery angled across the right-hander. Hasan Ali then struck in his first over, removing Shadman Islam for 13 after inducing an outside edge to the slips.
Despite the early movement on offer, Bangladesh will head into the second session encouraged by the manner in which Shanto and Mominul steadied the innings.
Bangladesh grinding through difficult opening session
Bangladesh endured a testing opening session after Pakistan opted to bowl first in Mirpur, reaching 38 for two at the drinks break after 13 overs on the opening day of the first Test on Friday.
Pakistan’s seamers made immediate use of the conditions, with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Abbas keeping the batters under constant pressure through disciplined lines and movement off the surface at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Mahmudul Hasan Joy looked compact early on, striking two boundaries in his 19-ball eight before Afridi induced a faint edge with an outswinger angled across the right-hander, and Mohammad Rizwan completed the catch behind the stumps in the seventh over.
Shadman Islam then attempted to weather the pressure alongside Mominul Haque, but Hasan Ali struck in his very first delivery. The seamer extracted slight movement away from a short-of-a-length delivery, drawing an outside edge that Salman Ali Agha accepted safely in the slips as the hosts slipped to 31 for two.
At the first drinks interval, Mominul was unbeaten on six while skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto was on three.
Bangladesh asked to bat as Pakistan field two debutants
Pakistan captain Shan Masood won the toss and opted to bowl first against hosts Bangladesh in the opening Test of the two-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Friday.
Bangladesh, led by Najmul Hossain Shanto, are banking on their pace attack on a greenish surface, with Nahid Rana, returning Taskin Ahmed and Ebadot Hossain included in the XI alongside the spin duo of Taijul Islam and Mehidy Miraz.
Pakistan handed debuts to batters Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal as they fielded a strong pace unit led by Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hassan Ali.
Bangladesh XI: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Ebadot Hossain.
Pakistan XI: Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Fazal, Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Noman Ali, Hassan Ali, Mohammad Abbas.
Comments