Shadman overcomes testing morning session to score fifty

Lunch Bangladesh 134 for 2 (Shadman 53*, Mominul 45*) trail Pakistan 448 for 6 dec by 314 runs

Shadman Islam batted through an extended three-hour first session on day three, weathering a testing early burst from the fast bowlers before bringing up his half-century on the stroke of lunch, as Bangladesh made a determined reply to Pakistan's first-innings total.

Naseem Shah and Khurram Shahzad picked up a wicket each in the first hour-and-a-half, but batting grew steadily easier once the ball lost its shine, and Shadman grew in confidence as he and the fluent Mominul Haque went to lunch having put on an unbroken 81 for the third wicket.

Naseem was the pick of Pakistan's bowlers, maintaining a hypnotic control over line and length against Bangladesh's entirely left-handed top four while conceding just 15 off his first 12 overs. But even he found out how much the conditions were against him, as Mominul hit him for back-to-back fours in his penultimate over before lunch - a cheeky uppercut over the slips followed by a premeditated step back and across to flat-bat a marginally short-of-length ball wide of mid-on - and Shadman pulled him to the square leg boundary to bring up his fifty off the last ball of the session.

Bangladesh had had to fight extremely hard to earn the right to play those shots. Resuming on 27 for no loss, they scored just 12 runs in 12 overs before the first drinks break, losing Zakir Hasan along the way. Naseem and Shaheen Shah Afridi were relentless with their probing in the channel and found enough movement to imperil on-the-up shots, and Bangladesh's top three resisted them for most part through a combination of skill, judgment and a bit of luck.

Pakistan made their breakthrough in the fifth over of the day, however, when Naseem's angle across the batter, and a bit of away seam movement and extra bounce, coaxed Zakir into a hard-hands push away from the body. Mohammad Rizwan - back as keeper after going off the field with cramps late on day two - flew to his left to complete the catch off the edge.

Runs flowed slightly quicker when the third and fourth seamers came on, and Najmul Hossain Shanto drove Khurram Shahzad crisply for fours through mid-off and extra-cover when he overpitched. But those were marginal errors from Shahzad as he bowled to a plan, bringing Shanto forward with fuller lengths while angling the ball into him from round the wicket. Having habituated Shanto into front-foot drives and blocks into the cover region with a slightly open bat face, he pulled his length back slightly and got one to nip back in off the seam and bowl him comprehensively through the gate.

Bangladesh were 53 for 2, and the seven overs before the next drinks break brought Shadman and Mominul just 12 runs.

Through all this, Shadman batted with poise, except for a couple of ungainly moments against the short ball when he top-edged pulls off Mohammad Ali and Shahzad, the ball falling safely in front of the long leg fielder both times.

As hard as Pakistan were pushing, however, the length of the session, with Friday's revised timings, was always going to be a test for them on a 35-degree day in Rawalpindi. Having gone without a boundary through the first two hours of the day, Shadman found his release when Shaheen served up a pair of freebies in the 24th over of the morning, driving a half-volley to the cover boundary and punching a full-toss back past the bowler. Then he stepped out to Salman Ali Agha's offspin in the next over and drilled him through the covers for another boundary to enter the 40s.

The momentum was beginning to shift, and the boundaries off Naseem late in the session reinforced this idea. Pakistan will know, however, that they still have a 314-run cushion when play resumes after lunch.

Source: ESPNcricinfo