Following Abdullah Shafique’s early dismissal, Pakistan finished the first session at 99 for 1, thanks to an undefeated partnership of 99 runs between Shan Masood (53*) and Saim Ayub (43*). In the opening over of the game, Taskin Ahmed took Bangladesh’s lone wicket.
In his first comeback Test, Taskin was right in the thick of things, dismissing Shafique for a duck. After passing through the gate, the batter missed an in-seamer that struck the top of the off-stump. Taskin bowled five out-swingers before getting the last ball of the over to jag back in, setting Shafique up for success.
During the first thirty minutes, the Bangladeshi bowlers were spot on. They bowled a tight channel and gave the hitters the outside edge.
Due to the significant boundaries, Saim Ayub and captain Shan Masood settled in, rotated the strike nicely, and ran the threes as soon as Pakistan was under pressure. Both batsmen turned the switch in the tenth over, resulting in two boundaries and a wicket-share in a 13-run over. As the sun baked down on the 22-yard strip, the pitch improved for batting, and the hitters capitalized as the surface lost moisture.
The short ball strategy used by Nahid Rana bothered Masood and chipped one to no man’s land. But for a maximum, his buddy dragged Rana over square leg. Throughout the first session, Masood, in particular, dropped and raced rapid singles consistently.
After hitting his second six of the innings, Ayub bounced down the track to Mehidy Hasan Miraz and easily defeated him over long-on. Occasionally, the bowlers attempted to unsettle the hitters by angling their deliveries, but to no avail. Masood scored his ninth half-century after hitting a ball past mid-off for a couple of runs.
The brief score is Pakistan 99/1 in 25 overs (Tastin Ahmed 1-21, Shan Masood 53*, Saim Ayub 43*).
