Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim held firm after Pakistan’s fast bowlers struck three early blows in the first session of the second Test at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
The pair came together with Bangladesh under pressure and focused on survival after another strong new-ball spell from Pakistan. Shanto and Mushfiqur played with care, avoided further damage and guided Bangladesh to lunch on 101 for 3 after a difficult opening session.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood chose to bowl first again after winning the toss and his bowlers delivered immediately. Mohammad Abbas gave Pakistan the dream start by dismissing Mahmudul Hasan Joy for a duck with his second delivery. Joy edged outside off stump and Bangladesh were in trouble from the beginning.
Test debutant Tanzid Hasan Tamim, replacing injured opener Shadman Islam, showed positive intent in his first innings. He looked confident at times and scored 26 before Abbas struck again, taking a return catch to remove him.
Pakistan were briefly shaken when Hasan Ali suffered a forehead injury while trying to stop the ball off his own bowling during Tanzid’s innings. He had to be stretchered off the field but returned after the 15th over.
Mominul Haque then added some resistance with 22, but Khurram Shahzad, brought in for Shaheen Shah Afridi, made his mark with a superb swinging delivery that broke through Mominul’s defence and hit the stumps.
That brought Shanto and Mushfiqur together earlier than Bangladesh would have wanted. The experienced pair then made sure Pakistan did not fully run through the middle order. They stayed patient, absorbed pressure and carefully rebuilt the innings heading into lunch.
Pakistan won the opening session with the ball, but Shanto and Mushfiqur gave Bangladesh some much-needed stability after the top-order collapse.
