Rain returned to Mirpur on day four to swallow more than a session of play, but Bangladesh still managed to extend their lead to 179, closing on 152 for 3 in their second innings thanks to half-centuries from Mominul Haque and Najmul Hossain Shanto.
Play was halted immediately after the lunch break and did not resume until 2:45pm, with the downpour lasting three hours. Only 19.3 overs were possible for the rest of the day, spanning from 2:45pm to 5:20pm. Despite the interruption, Bangladesh made meaningful progress, with Mominul and Shanto putting on 105 for the third wicket to steady the innings after a brittle start.
Shanto closed the day unbeaten on 58, his sixth Test fifty, and will resume on day five alongside Mushfiqur Rahim, who is not out on 16. With two days potentially remaining and a lead approaching 180, Bangladesh are in a strong position, though the match is far from settled.
Bangladesh had begun the day on 7 without loss, carrying a lead of 34 runs. The openers, however, failed to build on that platform. Mahmudul Hasan Joy, dismissed for just 5, fell lbw to Shaheen Shah Afridi for the second time in the match, missing the line on the front foot and finding no relief from the review. Shadman Islam was similarly dismissed by Hasan Ali in both innings, repeating the same error he had made in the first.
With two wickets down cheaply, Mominul and Shanto took centre stage. Their 105-run partnership for the third wicket was the backbone of the day’s play, mirroring the 170-run stand they had shared in the first innings and again demonstrating their value as Bangladesh’s most reliable middle-order combination in this match.
During his innings, Mominul became only the third Bangladesh batter to reach 5,000 runs in Test cricket, a landmark that arrived in the course of his 27th Test fifty. The left-hander had every chance to go much further, being dropped twice, on 15 and again on 45, before Shaheen finally held him accountable, drawing a catch behind to wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan for 56.
Mominul’s dismissal ended a run of five consecutive Test innings in which he had passed fifty, a sequence that underlined his return to form in this series. Despite the missed opportunity to push on, his contribution was vital in giving Bangladesh the platform they needed heading into the final day.
