Mushfiqur and Mehidy nullify Pakistan's pace as Bangladesh lead by 94 runs in Rawalpindi Test

Mushfiqur Rahim dug in to score a superb 191 and share a record stand with Mehidy Hasan Miraz as Bangladesh nullified Pakistan's pace attack in the first test on Saturday.

Mushfiqur’s 11th test hundred, and first against Pakistan, came in more than 8-1/2 hours and lifted Bangladesh to 565 all out on Day 4.

It was Bangladesh’s third highest score away from home, as Pakistan’s ploy to go with four fast bowlers failed to work on a greenish wicket that eased considerably for batting.

Pakistan, which made 448-6 declared in its first innings, lost opener Saim Ayub early in its second and was 23-1 at stumps, trailing by 94 runs. Abdullah Shafique was not out on 12 while captain Shan Masood was unbeaten on 9.

Mushfiqur’s marathon 341-ball knock, featuring 22 fours and a six, ended in the final session when he attempted a square cut against Khurram Shahzad’s good-length delivery and was caught behind.

Mushfiqur and No. 8 Mehidy, who scored 77, made the four fast bowlers toil under hot and humid conditions by raising a 196-run stand, the highest seventh-wicket partnership in a test against Pakistan.

It broke the 48-year record of Richard Hadlee and Warren Lees. The New Zealand pair put on 186 against Pakistan in Karachi in 1976.

"I had a good partnership but the credit goes to Mushfiqur, who kept encouraging me,” said Mehidy, who faced 179 balls and hit six fours. "Tomorrow the first hour is very important. If our bowlers get some early wickets, we have a great chance.”

Naseem Shah picked up 3-93 and fellow spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi grabbed two late wickets to finish with 2-88. The two other seamers - Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Ali - claimed two wickets apiece.

"The weather is extremely hot and we didn’t get the kind of help from the wicket as we had expected,” Naseem said. "We need to think about how to extract home advantage because you have to find a way to produce results from these games, otherwise you’re not utilizing home advantage.”

All-rounder Salman Ali Agha (41) completed the most overs, after Pakistan opted not to go with a specialist slow bowler. Mushfiqur counter-attacked the offspinner, who ended up with 0-136.

Salman was unlucky not to be among the wickets as Babar Azam spilled a catch at leg slip when Mushfiqur was on 150. Wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan also couldn’t hold onto a legside catch off Mehidy when he was on 52.

In addition, Salman dropped Mehidy off Afridi before finally holding onto the batter’s edge in the slips to make amends for his earlier lapse.

Resuming on 316-5, Shah had Litton Das (56) caught behind inside the first hour, but Mushfiqur and Mehidy kept the bowlers at bay.

Mushfiqur was on 59 when he overturned umpire Richard Kettleborough’s lbw decision through a television referral before Shah beat Das with extra pace.

It ended an enterprising 114-run partnership between Litton and Mushfiqur.

Mushfiqur raised his century in the penultimate over before lunch when he swept Salman for two.

Associated Press