Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel both scored centuries as Pakistan declared at 448-6 against Bangladesh, leading by 421 runs after the second day of their Test match in Rawalpindi on Thursday. The pair combined for a 240-run partnership for the fifth wicket, with Shakeel dismissed for 141, while Rizwan remained unbeaten on 171. Bangladesh ended the day at 27 without loss, with Shadman Islam on 12 and Zakir Hasan on 11.
Bangladesh batting coach David Hemp expressed hope that his team's batters could match their Pakistani counterparts. 'It's a pretty good batting pitch and we hope it continues like this,' said Hemp, a former Bermuda player. 'Our batters need to match Pakistan's batters and we need to get closer to Pakistan's total.'
Starting the day at 158-4, Pakistan had a successful morning session under sunny skies, with Rizwan and Shakeel preparing for substantial scores against a weak Bangladesh bowling attack. Rizwan reached his half-century in the 53rd over with a steer behind the wicket off pace bowler Nahid Rana, followed by consecutive boundaries. The duo's partnership saw Pakistan reach lunch at 256-4, with the Rawalpindi pitch improving for batting as the day progressed.
After the lunch break, Rizwan launched Shakib Al Hasan for a massive six over long on, taking their partnership past 150 runs. He then scored his third Test century with a boundary off the spinner in his next over. Shakeel also reached his third century in Test cricket and continued to pressure the tourists before being stumped after misjudging a delivery from Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Rizwan, suffering from cramps, hit Shoriful Islam for a six and reached his 150 two balls later. Lower down the order, Agha Salman (19) and Shaheen Shah Afridi (29) contributed useful runs.
Shakeel commented that it's too early to judge the pitch. 'The ball was moving early on (Wednesday) but if you look at Bangladesh's bowling they bowled short of length and had they pitched it up they would have got more success,' said Shakeel. 'Let our bowlers bowl tomorrow (Friday) then we can have a final say on the pitch.'
