Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque dug in to take Bangladesh to 101-2 at lunch on the first day of the first cricket test against Pakistan on Friday.
After Pakistan put the home side to bat, Shanto and Mominul added 70 runs for the unbroken third wicket, putting Bangladesh on track toward a daunting score.
Shanto was 39 not out off 50 balls and Mominul was on 31, at lunch.
The tall, lanky fast bowler also appeared to be a thorn in Mahmudul Hasan & Shadman Islam’s path as he bowled admirably well with the new ball.
He had already survived a few close calls against the moving deliveries when he edged behind off Shaheen for 8. Bangladesh was on 31-2 when his opening partner Shadman (13) edged a delivery to first slip.
Bangladesh seamer Taskin Ahmed was back in the starting XI after his last test against West Indies in December 2024. Pakistan’s leading batter Babar Azam was not available after injuring his left knee ahead of the match.
There were two test debutants in the Pakistan squad- Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal
Pakistan drew the two-test series with South Africa 1-1 last October. Pakistan halted a 10-match series-winning streak of South Africa with their 93-run victory in the first test before South Africa won the second test by eight wickets.
In November, they hosted Ireland for a two-test home series which Bangladesh won 2-0.
The second Test starts in Sylhet in eastern Bangladesh on 16 May.