In the first Test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, left-handers Saud Shakeel and Saim Ayub both scored tough half-centuries to help Pakistan reach 158/4 after a rain delay.
Shakeel remained not out on 57 at the conclusion, while Ayub scored 56 for his inaugural fifty in a partnership of 98 runs for the fourth wicket as Pakistan stood at 16/3.
In his 11th Test match, Shakeel achieved a score of 1,000 runs, making 33 runs and hitting five boundaries to secure his seventh half-century. He made 44 runs while batting fifth with Mohammad Rizwan, who ended not out at 24.
After scoring 44 runs on the last session of Day 1, Shakeel and Rizwan maintained their strong partnership during the morning session on Day 2. They efficiently rotated the strike, took advantage of boundary chances, and maintained a consistent scoring rate while the Bangladesh bowlers struggled to generate support, whether through pace or spin.
Rizwan was the third player in the innings to score over fifty by skillfully guiding a short ball from Nahid Rana to the third-man boundary, and he successfully repeated the shot on the following delivery. Rana’s decisive intervention enabled Rizwan to hit his first six, and shortly after, the century partnership was reached, giving Bangladesh’s bowlers a tough time despite Najmul Hossain Shanto’s efforts to mix up their bowling tactics.
The Pakistan batters continued to find gaps and maintain a high strike rate, with Rizwan consistently hitting boundaries and outscoring his batting partner. They couldn’t reduce the scoring rate either. Both batsmen reached the 80s and remained not out at the Lunch interval.
Summary of scores: Pakistan’s total is 256/4 with Mohammad Rizwan scoring 89 not out, Saud Shakeel 86 not out, and Saim Ayub 56; Shoriful Islam took 2 wickets for 43 runs, and Hasan Mahmud took 2 wickets for 55 runs against Bangladesh.