CHITTAGONG: Pakistan could not have asked for a better start on Day 4 when Mushfiqur Rahim’s off-stump was uprooted while shouldering-arms an in-dipper by Hasan Ali. With five down for just 43 runs on the board, someone had to take rearguard in order for Bangladesh to have some breathing space.
And that they did. Yasir Ali and Liton Das, the hero of the first innings, put on a 37-run stand before Ali was forced to retire hurt after a Shaheen Afridi delivery hit the grill on his helmet. Nurul Hasan was called in as Ali’s concussion replacement and contributed with 15 runs before falling to Sajid Khan.
Afridi, in a display of lethal fast bowling, bowled tight lines and lengths and kept troubling the Bangladeshi batters throughout the innings. He picked up five wickets and Bangladesh got rolled out for 157, setting Pakistan a target of 202.
Pakistan, in reply, started in a solid manner with Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafique hitting some beautiful shots and registering yet another half centuries. The visitors are just 93 runs away from winning the first Test, but more importantly from getting those crucial World Test Championship points on the table.
