Bangladesh 76/7 after Pakistan declare at 300/4

DHAKA: Bangladesh slipped to 76/7 at stumps on Day 4 of the second Test after Pakistan declared at 300/4 in their first innings, here on Tuesday.

Bangladesh had a horror-filled Day Four in Dhaka as Sajid Khan, the young Pakistani spinner, ripped through the hosts' batting order and bagged six wickets.

After rain played spoilsport on two consecutive days, the start of day four also got delayed due to light showers and a wet outfield. However, the match resumed after almost an hour and a half's wait with Pakistan on 188/2, and Babar Azam and Azhar Ali were on 71 not out and 52 not out respectively.

On the first ball he faced, Azhar struck a four. But two balls later, he threw away his wicket, getting caught behind after scoring 56. Shortly after, Azam followed suit, falling for 76.

Thereafter, the two new batters -- Fawad Alam and Mohammad Rizwan combined for a steady stand and made sure there were not any more hiccups in the session. They batted with caution and kept the scoreboard ticking with regular boundaries. They took their side to Lunch at 242/4, with their stand worth 45 runs at the time.

The two batters kept finding the ropes after the break and soon got to their respective fifties before Azam decided to declare the innings at 300/4 in an attempt to force a result in the four sessions remaining.

One over into Bangladesh's innings, Pakistan had to bring on their spinners due to the dwindling light in Mirpur. The forced move proved to work out well as Sajid Khan dismissed debutant Mahmudul Hasan Joy for a duck. Sajid picked up his second wicket as Bangladesh lost their other opener, Shadman Islam, to a soft dismissal.

It went from bad to worse for the hosts when they lost their skipper Mominul Haque to a run-out. Trying to steal a quick single, Haque was short of his crease after Hasan Ali hit the stumps directly at the non-striker's end as Bangladesh went into Tea at 22/3.

In the third session, Sajid struck for the third time as Mushfiqur Rahim went for a wild slog but failed to connect as the ball traveled only to short mid-wicket. In their bid to be aggressive, Bangladesh lost another wicket with Liton Das charging down the track and straight into the hands of Sajid Khan who completed a good reflex return catch.

Despite having lost half their side, Shakib Al Hasan and Najmul Hossain Shanto continued to show intent and lived dangerously. The pair smashed three boundaries in a space of seven deliveries before Sajid trapped Shanto to register his maiden Test five-for.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz was the seventh batter to make the long walk back, with Sajid cleaning him up for an eight-ball duck. With the light fading, the umpires decided to call stumps early with Bangladesh at 76/7, still 25 runs away from avoiding the follow-on.

Brief scores: Pakistan 300/4 decl in 1st innings (Babar Azam 76, Azhar Ali 56; Taijul Islam 2-73) lead Bangladesh 76/7 in 1st innings (Sajid Khan 6-35) by 224 runs. IANS

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