Mirpur: Bangladesh are confident in the first Test against Pakistan as the fourth day ended early due to poor light, with the hosts in command at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Monday.
After the second session was washed out due to incessant rain, play resumed before the final session after lunch.
Resuming their innings at 93-2 in 31 overs, Bangladesh scored 152-3 in 50.3 overs.
Earlier, Pakistan hit the ground running early with their pace attack. First, Mohammad Abbas was trapped by Mahmud Hasan Joy lbw for 5 off 26 balls. Then Hasan Ali dismissed Shadman Islam for 10 off 22 balls, an innings with two fours.
After early setbacks, Mominul Haq and Najmul Hossain Shando took Bangladesh past the 50-run mark and settled the innings with an organized and disciplined partnership. The pair hit a century, putting Bangladesh firmly in command.
Both Shando and Mominul batted fluently as they reached their respective half-centuries, helping Bangladesh cross the 100 mark with growing authority.
However, their 105-run partnership was broken when Shaheen Afridi dismissed Mominul Haq for 56 off 120 balls, an innings that featured four fours. Bangladesh scored 128 runs for 3 wickets in 42.5 overs.
Despite the progress, Bangladesh remained in a strong position, ending the day with a healthy advantage heading into the final phase of the Test.
Captain Santo remained unbeaten on 58 off 106 balls with 6 fours while Mushfiqur Rahim remained unbeaten on 16 off 31 balls including 3 fours.
Fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Abbas and Hasan Ali took one wicket each for Pakistan.
Earlier, after being asked to bat first, excellent batting by Mominul Haq, captain Najmul Hossain Shando and veteran Mushfiqur Rahim saw them all out for 413 in 117.1 overs.
Recovering from 31-2, Huq and Shando batted smartly and put on a 170-run partnership, both batsmen bringing up half-centuries, while the skipper scored a century.
Huq scored 91 off 200 balls with 10 fours and was dismissed by Noman Ali, while Najmul Hossain top scored 101 off 130 balls with 12 fours and 2 sixes before falling to Mohammad Abbas.
Mushfiqur scored a 179-ball 71 with eight boundaries before being dismissed by Shaheen Shah Afridi, while useful lower-order contributions came from Liton Das and Taskin Ahmed.
Das scored 33 runs off 67 balls including 5 fours while Taskin scored 28 off 19 balls with 3 fours and a six.
Mohammad Abbas led the bowling for the visitors with figures of 5/92 in 34 overs. Shaheen Afridi took 3 wickets and Hasan Ali and Noman Ali took one wicket each.
In reply, Pakistan were bowled out for 386 in 100.3 overs, despite debutants Azaan Awais and Abdullah Fazal and senior batsman Salman Ali Agha and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan scoring a century and three half-centuries to give Bangladesh a 27-run lead.
Openers Imam-ul-Haq and Awais started positively, finding boundaries early on and building a solid foundation to ease the pressure after Bangladesh’s first innings total.
The pair put the Bangladesh bowlers under pressure and the runs flowed freely during the final session of the game. Azan Awais raised his bat for his maiden Test half-century and the duo brought up a 100-run opening partnership.
However, Mehdi Hasan Miraz provided the turning point by dismissing Imam-ul-Haq, who fell for 45 off 72 balls with 6 boundaries, as Pakistan were 106-1 in 22 overs.
Azan Awais top scored with 103 off 105 balls including 14 fours before Taskin Ahmed was dismissed, Abdullah Fazal scored 60 off 120 balls with 7 fours and a six to fall to Mehdi Hasan Miraz.
Salman Ali Agha and Rizwan also batted sensibly, with Agha scoring 58 off 94 balls including 6 fours and a six, while the wicketkeeper-batsman scored 59 off 79 balls with 8 fours.
Mehdi Hasan Miraz played for the hosts with figures of 5/102 in 38 overs. Taskin Ahmed and Taijul Islam took 2 wickets each and Nahid Rana took one wicket.