Shan Masood
After an early setback with the loss of their first wicket in the opening over, Pakistan quickly recovered, amassing 99 runs in the first 25 overs of the second day’s play in the second Test against Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Abdullah Shafique was dismissed by Taskin Ahmed in the very first over, putting Pakistan on the back foot. However, the situation improved significantly as Captain Shan Masood played a crucial role, scoring a brisk 50 runs.
His partnership with opener Saim Ayub, who is also nearing a half-century with 43 runs, helped steady Pakistan’s innings.
Earlier, Bangladesh had won the toss and elected to bowl first. The match faced an unfortunate delay as the first day was completely washed out due to rain, with no play or toss occurring.
On the second day, following the lunch break, the play was set to resume with the second session from 12:40 PM to 2:55 PM, followed by a tea break until 3:15 PM.
The final session was scheduled from 3:15 PM to 5:15 PM, with the possibility of extending play by an additional half hour if needed to complete the overs for the day.
For this Test, Pakistan made changes to their lineup, with spinner Abrar Ahmed and left-arm medium pacer Mir Hamza replacing fast bowlers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was granted leave to spend time with his family. In contrast, Bangladesh brought Taskin Ahmed into their squad while resting Shoriful Islam.
The current Pakistan squad for the second Test includes Captain Shan Masood, Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Muhammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Abrar Ahmed, Mir Hamza, and Muhammad Ali.
Bangladesh’s lineup features Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Mominul Islam, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das (wicketkeeper), Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, and Nahid Rana.
Bangladesh’s head coach, Chandika Hathurusingha, acknowledged the challenge of defeating Pakistan on their home ground but noted that the team’s morale was high following their recent victory against the hosts.
The match continues to be a closely contested encounter, with both teams keen to make their mark.
