Shakeel, Saim steady Pakistan innings

Today in Rawalpindi, Bangladesh is facing Pakistan in the first Test of the series. However, due to rain, the match did not start at the scheduled time. After a delay of nearly four and a half hours due to rain and a wet outfield, play finally began, showcasing the dominance of the Bangladeshi pacers. Shariful Islam and Hasan Mahmud made quick work of Pakistan's top order, dismissing them early in the innings. Shariful removed Babar Azam in just two balls, ending his innings and dreams. However, Saim Ayub could not be stopped and is now very close to a fifty.

After losing 3 wickets for just 16 runs, Pakistan is trying to recover with the partnership of Saim Ayub and Saud Shakeel. They have been scoring at a relatively fast pace. By tea break, after 21 overs, Pakistan's score was 81 for 3. Saim is batting at 42 off 68 balls, while Shakeel has scored 28 off 32 balls. In the last 10 overs, the two added 52 runs to the scoreboard.

Pakistan, who batted first after losing the toss, faced immediate trouble. Abdullah Shafique was out after just 3 runs on the board. He edged a delivery outside the off-stump from Hasan Mahmud and was caught in the gully region for 2 runs. Zakir Hasan took a superb catch.

Shariful Islam then dismissed captain Shan Masood, who came in at number three. Initially, the umpire did not respond to the appeal for a wicket, but Bangladesh successfully challenged the decision using a review. The ball, after hitting Masood's bat and pad, was caught by Litton Das. Babar Azam was then dismissed by Shariful's delivery, which was taken by Litton Das as it went down the leg side.

Babar Azam, who moved to number four in the batting order, received a duck. His flick was caught by Litton Das diving to his left. This was a dream come true for Shariful Islam, who had mentioned just four days ago that his dream wicket was Babar Azam. Before today, Shariful had bowled four innings against Babar in official cricket without dismissing him. In Rawalpindi, it took him only two balls to achieve this.

Pakistan, having lost their 2nd and 3rd wickets at 14 and 16 runs respectively, found some stability with the surviving openers Saim Ayub and vice-captain Saud Shakeel. At the end of 21 overs, Pakistan’s score is 81 for 3, with Saim on 42 and Shakeel on 28.