RAWALPINDI, Pakistan: Lanky paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi took four wickets to help Pakistan dismiss Bangladesh for a paltry 233 on the opening day of the first Test in Rawalpindi on Friday.
Shaheen recorded figures of 4-53 in 21.5 overs and was ably assisted by fellow pacer Mohammad Abbas (2-19) and spinner Haris Sohail (2-11) to justify Pakistan’s decision to send Bangladesh in to bat on a greenish-yellow Rawalpindi stadium pitch.
Pakistan were due to bat for five overs but bad light forced umpires to call it a day.
Bangladesh could have been bowled out for inside 200 had it not been for a defiant display of batting from Mohammad Mithun who top-scored with 63 including seven fours and a six in his 193-minute stand.
Bangladesh were reeling against pace at 161-6 when Mithun added an invaluable 53 run stand for the seventh wicket with Taijul Islam who made a resolute 24.
It was Sohail who had Islam caught by Yasir Shah before Pakistan wiped off the tail with the second new ball as 16-year-old Naseem Shah ended Mithun’s resistance, getting him caught behind.
Shaheen said he was happy to do his part.
“It’s my role to get wickets and I am happy that I did that,” said Shaheen, who played down not getting a five-wicket haul.
“You aim at improving your figures but the beauty of Test cricket is that you don’t always break records.
“Other team also comes to play and it was unlucky that the last man got run out but it’s always a team game,” said Shaheen whose best figures of 5-77 came against Sri Lanka in December last year.
Just before tea, Sohail broke a defiant 54-run stand for the sixth wicket between Liton Das (33) and Mithun as the two led Bangladesh’s fightback after the Pakistan bowlers totally dominated the first session.
Sohail had dropped Mithun off a luckless Yasir at wide second slip when the batsman was on 22 but compensated for the lapse with two wickets.
Yasir failed to get a wicket in 22 overs, conceding 83 runs.
Earlier, the extended two-and-a-half hour first session due to Friday prayers truly belonged to Pakistan as they kept Bangladesh down to 95-3 by lunch.
Shaheen, 19, removed debutant Saif Hassan (nought) off the third ball of the match and then had skipper Mominul Haque (30) to get vital breakthroughs for Pakistan.
Abbas trapped opener Tamim Iqbal with the 10th ball of the match for three to leave Bangladesh tottering at 3-2.
Iqbal, who last Sunday smashed Bangladesh’s highest first-class score with 334 not out in a domestic match, tried to play across but missed the ball.
Umpire Nigel Llong of England had rejected the appeal but Pakistan wisely had it reviewed and the replay showed the ball hitting the stumps.
Haque and Najmul Hossain Shanto (44) revived the innings during their third wicket stand of 59 before Haque miscued a drive and was caught behind by wicketkeeper Rizwan off Shaheen.
Haque smashed five crisp boundaries during his confident knock.
Shanto, whose previous best of 18 was against New Zealand in 2017, fell soon after lunch when he edged one from Abbas to Rizwan. He hit six boundaries.
Mahmudullah, who was shaping well with four boundaries in his 25, played a rash shot off Shaheen and was caught brilliantly at gulley by a leaping Asad Shafiq.
Bangladesh dismissed for 233 as Shaheen takes four wickets
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Bangladesh dismissed for 233 as Shaheen takes four wickets
- Shaheen Shah Afridi recorded figures of 4-53 in 21.5 overs
- The hosts are with the same playing XI that won by 263 runs against Sri Lanka last December
Young future stars of Saudi golf enjoy a moment alongside the big names at LIV Golf Riyadh
- Participants in ROSHN Rising Stars program to develop golfing talent in the Kingdom play friendly competition at Riyadh Golf Club before round 3 of the season opener tees off
- ‘Golf is such a fundamental sport for development … The values of golf can be correlated to the values of society: confidence, resilience and integrity,’ says LIV Golf’s Jake Jones
RIYADH: While much of the spotlight during LIV Golf’s 2026 season opener in Riyadh this week has of course been on the return of some of the sport’s biggest names for the new campaign, a new generation of Saudi golfers is also quietly taking its own first steps into the game.
Participants in the ROSHN Rising Stars program, an initiative designed to introduce and develop young golfing talent across the Kingdom, gathered at Riyadh Golf Club on Friday afternoon for a friendly competition a few hours before the third round of the main event teed off under the lights.
“The real focus is getting golf into the lives of young people in the Kingdom,” Jake Jones, LIV Golf’s senior vice president of impact and sustainability told Arab News as the young golfers took to the course under cloudy skies.
“We wanted to do something a little bit different, something sustained, with a long-term outcome, and that’s how this program was created.”
The program runs for 20 weeks, during which the participants receive weekly coaching and instruction sessions at Riyadh Golf Club from Golf Saudi professionals.
“This takes them from never having held a golf club before to reaching a point where they’ve now played in a competition,” Jones said.
The fact that the LIV Golf season opens in Riyadh provides another key benefit for the participants, as they get to experience the professional game up close, and this access to world-class players and events forms a key part of their journey.
“We give them exposure to our LIV Golf events, here and internationally,” Jones added.
Beyond this, and teaching people how to play the game, the program offers participants insights into the wider aspects of the world of golf, including career opportunities.
“They’ve had behind-the-scenes tours, pitch-and-putt sessions, long-drive competitions and visits to places like the media center,” Jones said. “It’s about showing them what it’s like not just to play golf, but work in the sport as well.”
Friday’s event in Riyadh marked the conclusion of the 20-week program for its participants.
“Today is really the celebration point,” Jones said. “We’re at the graduation phase of this journey, where they’ll compete in a three-hole challenge. We then crown a winner and celebrate with them back at the ROSHN Fan Village.”
As golf continues to grow in popularity in the region, Jones believes initiatives such as Rising Stars will have a lasting effect on the development of next generation of players.
“Golf is such a fundamental sport for development; it’s not just about physical activity and having fun,” he said. “The values of golf can be correlated to the values of society: confidence, resilience and integrity.
“Imagine playing golf and you miss the ball or you end up in the sand; you have to get back up and try again. You block the noise around you and focus on the ball to make the right shot.”
Jones highlighted in particular the importance of integrity as one of golf’s defining characteristics, and how that can help shape personal development.
“The rules of golf are reliant on you following them,” he said. “That sense of honesty and self-discipline is something young players can carry beyond the course” into the roles they play in their communities, societies and countries.
“The role that golf can have with young people in Saudi Arabia is actually another layer of baking in those core societal skills, to ensure that they are fit and robust for the future,” Jones added.
This is particularly important given the youthful nature of the Saudi population, more than half of which is under the age of 30, he said, and they now have the chance to benefit from golf in one way or another.
“Golf is now another avenue that they can explore. Whether it’s playing, working in the sport or simply finding a community, we want to give them another reason to get excited.
“We believe that golf can do all of that and, hopefully, it can spark a lasting passion among the Saudi youth.”
