Islamabad, Aug 23: Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel gave some outstanding efforts on the second day of Pakistan’s first Test match against Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Pakistan recovered spectacularly from an early setback, thanks batting centuries from Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel that helped the team to a formidable 448/6 in the first innings.
After making an incredible 141, Saud Shakeel was removed from the game, but Rizwan persisted and finished unbeaten with 171.
The decision by Pakistani captain Shan Masood to declare the innings after the team reached 448 runs caused controversy among both cricket commentators and fans. Many questioned if it was appropriate for Rizwan to attempt a double century.
In response to these worries, vice-captain of Pakistan Shakeel stated that Rizwan was well aware of the declaration plan. About an hour prior, Rizwan bhai was notified that we would be making the declaration at this time. He was aware that we wanted to reach close to 450 runs before declaring,” Shakeel said.
However, Pakistan’s bowlers found it difficult to build on their momentum on the second day. They were unable to get past Bangladesh’s opening duo in 12 overs.
With scores of 12 and 11, respectively, Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan closed the day undefeated, leading Bangladesh to 27/0 at stumps. Pakistan has an extremely difficult task ahead of them as they look to improve on their impressive start because to the absence of early wickets.