Mushfiqur Rahim marked his 39th birthday with a composed half-century before Mohammad Abbas dragged Pakistan back into the first Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Saturday. Bangladesh started day two on 301 for four and reached lunch on 380 for seven after losing Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taijul Islam in the morning session.
Mushfiq resumed on 48 and needed 114 balls to reach his fifty. He took a single off Shaheen Shah Afridi to bring up his 29th Test half-century. The experienced middle-order batter played carefully early in the day while Litton attacked from the other end.
Litton struck three straight boundaries off Shaheen in the second over of the morning. Pakistan also wasted two reviews while trying to remove him. One appeal against Hasan Ali showed an inside edge after the ball brushed Litton’s pad.
Pakistan should have dismissed Liton on 33 when Ajan Awais grabbed a low catch at second slip off Abbas. Television replays showed the ball touched the ground before the catch. Litton failed to cash in on the reprieve. Abbas tempted him with a wide delivery outside off stump in the next over. Litton tried to loft the ball over mid-on but miscued it to substitute fielder Aamad Butt.
Miraz attacked immediately after arriving at the crease. He hit Abbas for six over deep square leg but fell on the next ball after driving aerially to gully. He scored 10 from a brief stay.
Taijul then added 24 runs with Mushfiq and looked comfortable against the older ball. He struck two boundaries and handled Hasan Ali confidently before Abbas removed him with a short ball. Taijul tried to hook but edged behind to Mohammad Rizwan for 17.
At lunch, Mushfiq remained unbeaten on 68 from 163 balls with eight fours. Bangladesh lost three wickets for 79 runs in the session after a strong overnight position.
