 |
|
In a thrilling display of fast bowling, Bangladesh dominated Pakistan's batting in the second session of Day 4 of the second Test in Rawalpindi, putting themselves in a strong position to secure a historic series win. The key to Bangladesh's success was the exceptional performance of pacer Hasan Mahmud, who took a five-wicket haul, dismantling the Pakistan batting order for a meager 174 runs in their third innings. Bangladesh now need a mere 148 runs to secure a 2-0 series victory, setting the stage for an exciting finish to the match.
The pressure was already mounting on Pakistan from the morning session, where they lost four wickets to pace bowling. Nahid Rana, who had earlier forced three Pakistani batters to make poor decisions, continued his impressive spell in the second session, adding to Pakistan's woes. Mohammad Rizwan, tasked with rescuing the innings, faced a difficult battle early on, even receiving a bouncer on his helmet. However, he managed to hold the fort with Agha Salman for over nine overs before succumbing to a poor shot from Mahmud, falling victim to a ball pitched outside off that moved away from him. The dismissal of Rizwan broke Pakistan's resistance, and the subsequent dismissal of Mohammad Ali on the next ball put the hosts in an even more precarious position.
With Pakistan on the back foot, Mahmud continued his relentless assault, picking up the wicket of Abrar Ahmed, who was tempted to poke at a rising delivery and edged the ball to Najmul at first slip. Despite Salman's attempts to push for quick runs, Mahmud ultimately wrapped up the innings with the wicket of Mir Hamza, completing his fifer and leaving Bangladesh needing just 148 runs to claim victory. Bangladesh's openers, Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam, made a swift start, with Zakir being particularly aggressive, smashing two sixes off Khurram Shahzad. Bangladesh entered the Tea break with a comfortable score of 37/0, poised to chase down the target and secure a historic series win. The stage is set for an exciting finish to the second Test in Rawalpindi, with Bangladesh looking to secure a memorable victory against their arch-rivals.
Source: Hasan Mahmud picks five as Bangladesh eye series win