Sylhet: Bangladesh are in firm control heading into the second and final Test against Pakistan at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
The hosts, who batted in the second innings, were 156 for 110-3 in 26.4 overs at the end of the second day, captain Najmul Hossain Sandhu scoring an unbeaten 13, while Mominul Haq was dismissed on the final ball of the day.
Bangladesh got off to a poor start with the loss of Tanzid Hasan’s wicket in the third ball of the fourth over and scored four runs after hitting a boundary in seven balls.
After an early setback, Joy and Huq steadied the innings with crucial 50 runs from the start and helped the team cross the 50-run mark.
Mahmudul Hasan dominated the batting as he led his side to a strong total against Pakistan as he reached his sixth Test half-century off 58 balls.
However, the 76-run stand was broken after Mohammad Abbas dismissed Mahmudul after a 64-ball 52 with 10 boundaries.
Shando and Huq kept the scoreboard afloat which took the team’s total past 100 runs and helped extend the lead to over 150 runs.
But Khurram Shahzad took his second wicket off the ball to dismiss Mominul Haq for 30 in an innings that included 3 fours off 60 balls.
In the first innings, Pakistan were bowled out for 232 in 57.4 overs, taking a 46-run lead thanks to Bangladesh’s dominant bowling.
Babar Azam scored a struggling 68 off 84 balls, while Nahid Rana was dismissed with 10 fours, while Sajid Khan scored 38 off 28 balls with 2 fours and 4 sixes.
Captain Shaan Masood and Salman Ali Agha scored 21 runs each while openers Azaan Awais and Mohammad Rizwan added 13 runs each.
Fast bowler Nahid Rana and spinner Taijul Islam took three wickets each, while Taskin Ahmed and Mehidi Hasan Miraz took two wickets each.
Earlier, batting first, Bangladesh were bowled out for 278 and slipped to 116/6 after lunch, largely due to a restrained innings from Liton Das, who held the innings together and led the bottom order.
The right-handed batsman scored 126 off 159 balls with 16 fours and 2 sixes.
Captain Najmul Hossain Shando scored 29 runs off 74 balls with 3 fours and Tanzid Hasan scored 26 runs off 34 balls with 3 fours. Mominul Haq scored 22 runs off 41 balls with 3 fours and Mushfiqur Rahim scored 23 runs off 64 balls including 2 fours.
Liton Das received strong support from the lower order, Taijul Islam (16) and Shoriful Islam (12 not out), with whom he shared crucial partnerships of over 60 runs.
For Pakistan, Khurram Shahzad took 4 wickets for 81 runs in 17 overs. Mohammad Abbas took 3 wickets and Hasan Ali 2 wickets. Spinner Sajid Khan also picked up a wicket.