Bangladesh were rewarded with two early wickets following the home side captain Mushfiqur Rahim’s decision to bowl first in the deciding Test against Pakistan at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. The wicketkeeper-batsman, who termed the match as an extremely important one, opted to field after winning the toss. He had expected that the moisture and the grass on the wicket will give some edge to the Bangladesh bowlers but other than the removals of the two Pakistan openers, nothing seemed to go well for the Tigers.
Bangladesh received their first blow when paceman Shahadat Hossain incurred an injury to his right knee and was subsequently ruled out from bowling for the remainder of the Dhaka Test. The right-arm pace bowler was brought in to the playing XI in place of the injured Rubel Hossain.
With one pacer down, seamer-allrounder Soumya Sarkar was given the responsibility. The early Pakistan wickets were supposed to boost the Bangladesh attack but the momentum was taken away courtesy a 250-run stand for the third wicket between Younis Khan and Azhar Ali. While the former grabbed his 29th Test hundred, Azhar smashed his eighth.
Bangladesh, however, had the golden opportunity to remove the two before they reached their respective centuries. Azhar was on 19 and Younis was on 78 when paceman Mohammad Shahid and Soumya accounted for their wickets but both survived as the Tigers bowling duo overstepped.
On a disappointing day for the home side, Shahid was the only bowler who had some bite and enthusiasm. He had done a good job removing Mohammad Hafeez early before dismissing Younis later on the day to give some breathing space to the hosts.
“The wicket had grass which was making the ball move. We were getting some good help. We had plans and tried a few things but those did not work. I am still hopeful, to be honest. But, our spinners will need to bowl well tomorrow (today) and if we have a good bowling session ahead of lunch, we will get some momentum,” Shahid told the media at the post-day press conference.
Shahid admitted that the dismissals off the two no-balls made Bangladesh suffer but said, “You need to understand that one does not simply bowls an illegal delivery willingly. And, a few catches fell short of the fielders. I hope we will come better tomorrow (today),” said Shahid.