Middle order bursts by Misbah Ul Haq, Asad Shafiq, Adnan Akmal and a cameo by Abdur Rehman brought Pakistan a handy lead of 132 runs. The day started with Younis Khan and Misbah Ul Haq continuing from where they had left off in the 3rd Day. The score was 292/3 at the beginning of day four and Younis Khan’s half century was what everyone had expected to be more than just possible but he fell at 49 getting caught behind off Elias Sunny’s off-break bowling.
Misbah and Shafiq then formed a partnership of 66 runs during which Misbah went attacking and scored 70 runs with 11 boundaries. After Misbah’s dismissal at the score of 359, in came Adnan Akmal and together with Shafique formed a partnership of 30 runs until Asad Shafiq got trapped by Robiul Islam for a well made 42. Adnan Akmal showed how he can handle the bat and with 7 boundaries reached maiden half-century until he ran out of partners and getting out for 53 by Shakib Al Hassan. Shakib continued to impress with the ball and quickly removed the tail and picked up a total of 6 wickets becoming the first and only Bangladeshi to score a hundred and pick up a five-for in a test match. Pakistanis for the first time were bowled out by Bangladesh in a test match, as the final score was 470 runs with a healthy lead of 132 runs.
The Bangadeshis started their 2nd innings by attacking the Pakistani bowlers. Tamim Iqbal made a quick fire 21 off 19 deliveries with 5 boundaries until being given out caught behind wrongly by the umpire to Umar Gul’s well directed bouncer. The replays showed that the ball had hit the helmet not the gloves or the bat. This brought the Bangladeshis to their back-foot as Umar Gul trapped Shariar Nafees for a golden duck on the follow-up delivery. Umar Gul was on hat-trick but the Umpires ended the session for tea. Umar Gul couldn’t get the split-hat-trick as Nazimuddin and Mahmudullah along with Naser Hossain formed small but useful partnerships to bring some joy to the Bangladeshi crowd. Nazimuddin was bowled by Abdur Rehman by a ball that kept really low.
Mahmudullah looked well settled until he tried to hook a bouncer, only to be caught at third man by Abdur Rehman off the bowling of Aizaz Cheema. Cheema got his 2nd scalp when Shakib Al Hassan chased a wide delivery and got caught at gully by Azhar Ali. This was the most important wicket of the day as Pakistan’s celebration on Shakib’s dismissal was more than just ecstatic. The score read 95 for 5 and Bangladesh were still trailing by 37 runs. But Captain Mushfiqur Rahim along with Naser Hossain prevented any further losses as Bangladesh ended the day with 114 for 5.
The match looks well poised for a result as the Bangladeshis have half of their batting line-up in the hut and still trailing by 18 runs. From the look of the 5 wickets that fell, one can conclude that the Bangladeshis lack the temperament and the patience required for Test Cricket. If the weather doesn’t bring any disruptions, Pakistanis can hopefully win the second test match and white-wash Bangdesh, giving them their second clean-sweep of the year.
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