Pakistan v. Bangladesh - Test Series

[Donny]

Saleh - full name: Khondokar Mohammad Rajin Saleh Alam - has notched his half century. It is his first Test match but he has good form at first class level with 5 hundreds and 5 fifties in 20 matches for an average of 47+.

He is 57 and Mashud is 17 as they get close to a 200 lead. At 5/243 and these two looking set - their partnership has reached 48 - they could give Pakistan a problem total to chase.

[Donny]

Another player making his debut has just swung the initiative back Pakistan's way.

Shabbir Ahmed took 3 quick wickets, including Saleh (60).

Ahmed has taken 4/48 and Kaneria 3/85 to see Bangladesh on 9/274, a lead of 216.

Ahmed (fast medium) just took the last wicket to finish with 5/48 to add to his 3/61 from the first innings. The Bangers lost their last 5 wickets for only 23.

Pakistan need 217 to win.

[Donny]

After 12 overs, Pakistan are 1/29. Umar was dismissed for 4.

[HAL]

What was it like before 12 overs Pakistan are 129 ?

[Donny]

They are now 1/112 and in a strong position at stumps.

Hameed is 68 n.o. and is some sort of a chance to begin his Test career with 170 in the first innings and, with only 32 runs needed, a century in the second. If he stays in to the win, he'll have around 125 - 140 n.o. That's 300 or so for once out in your debut in a Test match.

They have all day tomorrow to get 105 more runs for a win.

[Donny]

Pakistan have moved on to 1/144.

Hafeez has just brought up his half century and Hameed is 86 and on target to turn in the second best ever debut in Tests.

Lawrence Rowe scored 214 and 100 n.o. for the Windies in about 1970. As far as I know, he's the only batsman to have not only scored centuries in the first and second innings in a debut Test but scored a double ton and an unbeaten 100.

Rafique just bowled Hafeez for 50.

[HAL]

Where did Hafeez get that? ?

[Donny]

He's done it !! Hameed just went to 101 with a two.

Pakistan is cruising at 2/170, needing 47 more to win.

Hameed is now 105 after celebrating with a boundary.

[Donny]

Rafique is the one celebrating now, having just bowled Hameed for 105. He has 2/42 from 19.2 overs.

[Donny]

Pakistan won by 7 wickets. Inzi (35 n.o.) and Youhana (15 n.o.) polished off the runs needed.

Hameed was named Man of the Match with 170 and 105 on debut.

[Donny]

Bangladesh won the toss and batted in the second Test.

Pakistan took an early wicket but the Bangers have got through the first 10 overs on 1/36 with Bashar, 18 n.o.

[Donny]

It was Bangladesh's day at Peshawar as Omar and Bashar put on 167 for the second wicket and Omar and Ashraful shared an unfinished 60 run partnership for the third.

Bashar (97) went close to consecutive Test centuries and Omar batted all day for 96 n.o. Ashraful is 34 n.o.

Akhtar went wicketless as did Kaneria. Ahmed and Gul have a wicket each.
----------------------------------------------

Bashar and Omar make Pakistan struggle
The Wisden Bulletin by Wisden CricInfo staff - August 27, 2003

Bangladesh gave further evidence of their new-found maturity at Test level with a fine batting display on the opening day of the second Test against Pakistan at Peshawar. Once again, Habibul Bashar led the way with a magnificent innings, which ended three short of a second consecutive hundred. With Javed Omar – who batted all day and 286 balls for his 96 – obdurate in defence, and showing the adhesive qualities of a limpet, Pakistan's bowlers were made to toil in oppressive conditions. At the close, Bangladesh had advanced to 240 for 2, with Omar and Mohammad Ashraful having forged another useful alliance.

The day belonged to Bashar and Omar, who added a record 167 for the second wicket before Bashar was trapped in front by one from Shabbir Ahmed. It was a close call – the ball was angling down middle and leg – but Russell Tiffin lifted the finger after giving it some thought (180 for 2). In their former guise, that might have been the excuse for Bangladesh to go to pieces, but Omar and Ashraful ensured that nothing of the sort happened with some assured batting. Ashraful, who was dropped for the opening Test after some indifferent performances in Australia, was in the mood to impress and he did so with some sweetly struck drives on either side of the wicket.

In stifling conditions that forced more than one Pakistani to go off the field, Bashar and Omar combined caution with some superb strokes to ram home the advantage established in the opening session. Pakistan's bowling, on a featherbed of a pitch, was distinctly pedestrian, with the notable exception of Umar Gul who strove manfully in appalling heat. Danish Kaneria, so often Bangladesh's nemesis in the past, persisted in bowling frequent full-tosses, and the batsmen duly took him to the cleaners.

As for Shoaib Akhtar, self-declared destroyer, he must have been wishing he was back in the cool climes of Chester-le-Street, playing for Durham. He tried everything ... yorkers, bouncers, snarls, but had no joy against two batsmen who were absolutely resolute in defence. His final over of the afternoon, a seven-minute exercise in frustration, ended with him going off with a suspected hip injury. When he came back after tea, he bowled at considerably less than full throttle, before going off again.

Shoaib Malik, who had bowled a tidy spell of offspin earlier, also suffered, going off with cramps late in the session. By then, Bangladesh were in complete control. Omar was occasionally troubled by deliveries that angled into his pads, but he played a couple of delicate late cuts off the slow bowlers. On the one occasion that he got it wrong, the edge evaded the somnolent Taufeeq Umar at first slip.

Bashar, who likes to have a go, was restrained in the extreme, though he played some gorgeous shots through the off side when the bowlers erred in line or length. It was a great toss for Khaled Mahmud to win, and his batsman made sure that it didn't go waste.

It was a sobering day for Pakistan, after Gul had given them the perfect start by enticing a thin outside-edge from Hannan Sarkar (13 for 1). Rashid Latif and his boys whooped that up, but the smiles were quickly replaced by grimaces of pain as Bashar and Omar took charge. Up in the pavilion, Bangladesh's coach Dav Whatmore watched intently, smile carefully concealed under walrus moustache.

[Donny]

The 250 is up for Bangladesh and Omar is 100 n.o.

[HAL]

What do you do in your spare time?

[HAL]