RAWALPINDI: Off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz grabbed five wickets to help Bangladesh skittle Pakistan for 274 on the second day of the second Test in Rawalpindi on Saturday.
The 26-year-old recorded his 10th five-wicket haul in Tests to cap a good day for the tourists, who are looking to win only their third away series.
Bangladesh finished the day on 10-0 despite opener Shadman Islam being dropped by Saud Shakeel off Mir Hamza on the first ball of the innings.
But it was Bangladesh’s bowlers who steered them to a strong position.
Mehidy dismissed Pakistan captain Shan Masood for 57 and opener Saim Ayub for 58 after the home team had been well-placed on 99-1 at lunch.
He produced match-turning figures of 4-21 in Bangladesh’s 10-wicket win in the first Test a week ago, and snared Khurram Shahzad for 12 and then Mohammad Ali and Abrar Ahmed to end the innings with 5-61.
Mehidy was ably assisted by fast bowler Taskin Ahmed, who took 3-57.
Agha Salman, dropped on nought by Zakir Hasan off Shakib Al Hasan, was Taskin’s third wicket after scoring 54 with three boundaries and two sixes.
Taskin said he was happy to be back in the longer format of Test cricket.
“It’s a good sporting pitch and we need to bat the full day and get a good lead,” Taskin said.
“It’s great to be back in red ball (cricket) after one-and-a-half years. I enjoyed that and adapted well.”
Salman said the pitch was better than the first Test track and should provide help for the spin bowlers.
“Unlike the first Test, this wicket has lively grass and I believe we have enough runs,” he said.
Desperate for a win to level the two-match series, Pakistan started well but lost wickets at regular intervals to slump from a relatively strong 107-1 on a greenish but slow Rawalpindi pitch.
Taskin bowled first Test centurion Saud Shakeel for 16, the left-hander having already survived a dropped catch by Mehidy off Nahid Rana on one.
Babar Azam, Pakistan’s best batter, fell leg-before to spinner Shakib Al Hasan for 31, having now gone 15 Test innings without a half-century.
The first day’s play on Friday was washed out due to rain but Pakistan shone with solid batting in the first session.
Masood, under pressure after scores of six and 14 in the first Test, hit two boundaries before he fell leg-before to Mehidy in the third over after the lunch break.
Fellow left-hander Ayub was more aggressive, hitting two sixes and four boundaries before he was stumped by wicketkeeper Liton Das off Mehidy.
Taskin, brought in for the unfit Shoriful Islam as Bangladesh’s only change, bowled Abdullah Shafique for nought off the sixth ball of the match.
Bangladesh’s 10-wicket win in the first Test, also in Rawalpindi, was their first over Pakistan in 14 attempts.
Pakistan made two changes from the first Test, resting spearheads Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah to bring in pace bowler Hamza and spinner Abrar Ahmed.
The two-match series is part of the World Test Championship, with Pakistan now ranked eighth and Bangladesh seventh in the nine-team table.
Mehidy’s five wickets give Bangladesh second Test edge over Pakistan
https://arab.news/w9dfx
Mehidy’s five wickets give Bangladesh second Test edge over Pakistan
- The 26-year-old recorded his 10th five-wicket haul in Tests to cap a good day for the tourists
- The series is part of World Test Championship, with Pakistan ranked 8th and Bangladesh 7th
Iwobi hails Nigerian ‘unity’ with Super Eagles set for Morocco AFCON semi
- The Nigerians take on AFCON hosts Morocco in Rabat on Wednesday looking to continue the prolific form
- “I feel like the difference is the sense of brotherhood, the family environment that we have created,” Iwobi said
RABAT: Nigeria star Alex Iwobi on Tuesday hailed coach Eric Chelle for creating a team spirit which has taken the Super Eagles to the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations only two months after their dreams of World Cup qualification were ended in agonizing fashion.
The Nigerians take on AFCON hosts Morocco in Rabat on Wednesday looking to continue the prolific form which has carried them to the last four.
They reached the final of the last Cup of Nations two years ago in Ivory Coast before losing to the hosts, while Iwobi also played in the side that reached the semifinals in 2019.
But he said a happier environment off the pitch — despite reports of rows with the national football federation over bonuses — was now helping bring out the very best in him and a team in its prime.
“I feel like the difference is the sense of brotherhood, the family environment that we have created for each other,” the 29-year-old Fulham star said at a packed press conference in the Moroccan capital.
“Of course at previous AFCONs we have done really well. The team was so strong but at the same time we were young and we were learning about each other.
“I feel like right now everybody is entering their prime, everyone is doing well for their clubs and you can see the joy and the chemistry we have when playing for our country.
“It is not just on the pitch, also off the pitch there is a big unity, we are a big family. It starts from the coach — he has brought that brotherhood.”
Nigeria limped through their qualifying campaign for the World Cup and saw their dreams of making it to the finals go up in smoke with a play-off defeat on penalties against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Rabat in November.
That was despite a notable upturn in form following the appointment of former Mali boss Chelle 12 months ago.
“We have always given 100 percent,” insisted Iwobi.
“In the World Cup qualifiers we wanted to win as well but it was a difficult moment for us, and we have used that disappointment as motivation to go and achieve something for our country, for ourselves, for our families.”
- Ndidi suspended -
Chelle, meanwhile, admitted that the presence of two recent winners of the African player of the year award in forward Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman made his job easier.
Nigeria are the tournament’s top scorers with 14 goals, including four for Osimhen and three for Lookman.
But it remains to be seen how they cope against Morocco without suspended skipper Wilfred Ndidi in midfield — Raphael Onyedika of Club Brugge is a likely replacement.
“We are a group and there are some very good players who are waiting for the chance to show something,” said Chelle.
Morocco, Africa’s top-ranked nation, will be hoping to make the most of home advantage with a crowd of almost 70,000 behind them at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
However, their coach Walid Regragui is well aware of the quality in the Nigerian ranks.
“We will need to be strong mentally but when you get to the AFCON semifinals you need to raise your concentration levels, run more to stop Nigeria taking a breather or be able to play with the same impact,” warned Regragui.
The man who led the Atlas Lions to the 2022 World Cup semifinals is under enormous pressure to win the tournament at home and knows there are plenty of critics who will be out to get him if he fails.
“In my country it’s like this — you need to accept that when you are the coach of Morocco,” he said.
“Every result you have critics. I stay focused on my team. I fight for my country and the critics every time. What I say to my players is I can’t fight about this. What is important is what they do on the pitch.”
