Bangladesh should be feeling good about their chances at the end of day three of the first Test in Mirpur against Pakistan.
Bangladesh lead Pakistan by 34 runs after bad light brought a premature end to the day. Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Shadman Islam were unbeaten on 2 and 0, respectively as the hosts closed the day on 7/0.
Earlier, Bangladesh took a 27-run first-innings lead after bowling out Shan Masood’s men for 386. Mehidy Hasan Miraz was the wrecker-in-chief for the hosts as he picked up 5/102.
Pakistan resumed the day on 179/1 with debutants Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal at the crease. Both picked up where they had left off on Saturday and, before long, got up a 100-run stand. However, shortly after Awais fell to Taskin Ahmed for 103, in the 55th over of the innings.
In the next 10 overs, Pakistan totally lost the plot and lost three quick wickets of captain Masood, Saud Shakeel and Fazal. The latter got a fifty, 60 to be precise, but couldn’t emulate Awais’ feat of scoring a ton on debut.
Taskin stars before Miraz
After Taskin accounted for Masood for 9, Miraz got in on the act. He removed Shakeel and Fazal. At 230/5, Pakistan looked all over the place; however, their T20 captain, Salman Agha and Mohammad Rizwan came to their rescue with solid fifties. Both added 119 runs for the sixth wicket. Taijul Islam dispatched Rizwan for 59, and a few deliveries later, tearaway pacer Nahid Rana sent Agha back for 58.
Pakistan’s tail failed to put up a fight and before long they were bowled out for 386. Miraz picked up Noman Ali and Shaheen Shah Afridi to take his 14th five-for in his 57th Test. Taijul bowled Hasan Ali for a duck to wrap up the innings.
While Miraz was the pick of the bowlers, Taskin provided the hosts with real buoyancy with quick wickets of Awais and Masood. He returned figures of 2/70 in 18 overs. Taijul also picked up two wickets and gave away 46 runs in his 11.3 overs.
While Bangladesh would be happy with their performance on day three, there is a lot more to do over the next couple of days. The pitch should help spinners much more on the last two days, and Bangladesh appear a superior side on that front. It may be noted that it’s a World Test Championship (WTC) series of two games.
