Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel powered Pakistan to a huge total and dominant position on Day 2 of the first Test match against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on Thursday. Shakeel continued his red-hot form with a big century and Rizwan smashed 171* as Pakistan declared their first innings on 448/6 to take control of the opening match.
After losing the first three wickets on just 16 runs, Pakistan made a sensational comeback with Rizwan and Shakeel adding 240 runs for the fifth wicket. Bangladesh bowlers struggled for wickets after a sensational start on Day 1 but batters managed to avoid wickets after scoring 27/0 at the end of Day 2's play.
Both Shakeel and Rizwan dominated Day 2's play with their potential match-defining partnership. After setting the joint-fastest 1000 Test runs record for Pakistan on Wednesday, Shakeel carried out his form by hitting his third Test century in 10 matches.
The spin all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz gave Bangladesh a breakthrough with Shakeel's wicket in the 95th over but the visiting side failed to capitalise on the momentum. Rizwan also recorded his third Test century to keep the runs coming at a good run rate in the closing stages.
Shakib Al Hasan dismissed Agha Salman who scored 19 runs but Rizwan and Shaheen Afridi kept Pakistan ahead with an unbeaten 50-run stand for the seventh wicket. Rizwan went on to score his highest score in Tests and the highest by any designated wicketkeeper in World Test Championship history.
Rizwan top-scored with 171 off 239 balls before captain Shan Masood declared Pakistan's first innings on 448/6 in 113 overs in hoping for some wickets before the end of Day 2's play. But Bangladesh openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam played out the remaining 12 overs and posted 27 runs on the scoreboard.
Bangladesh Playing XI: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana.
Pakistan Playing XI: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali.
