Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan ran 4 runs© X (Twitter)
In one of the rare instances in Test cricket, Pakistan pair Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan had to run between the wickets to add 4 runs to their total on Day 2 of the first Test against Bangladesh. It was Shakeel who drove a ball towards mid-off on the bowling of Nahid Rana. Shoriful Aslam, placed at mid-off, managed to get his hand on the ball, hence reducing the speed. Though his fielding prevented the ball from touching the boundary rope, the Pakistani duo still managed to run between the wickets and complete four runs.
The ball stopped near the long-off boundary after hitting Sharful’s hand, prompting Najmul Hossain Shanto to hunt it down. Shanto had to run from the mid-on region all the way to the boundary down the ground to pick up the ball, hence giving the batters ample time to run four.
The non-striker Mohammad Rizwan seemed to be quite tired at the end of the act, and threw his gloves and bat on the ground to let himself catch his breath. Here’s the video:
Don’t see this often… An all run for @saudshak! #PAKvBAN | #TestOnHai pic.twitter.com/uK1N3oU9HP
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 22, 2024
Pakistan started well on Day 2 after losing 4 wickets on Day 1. The likes of Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, and Babar Azam departed before even getting into double digits. Saim Ayub was dismissed on 57 runs before Shakeel and Rizwan also scored their respective half-centuries.
The new-ball pairing of Shoriful Islam (2-30) and Mahmud (2-33) jolted Pakistan after a delayed start of 230 minutes due to a wet outfield after overnight rain.
Shoriful removed the home team’s skipper Shan Masood for six and then star batter Babar Azam for a two-ball duck before Pakistan launched their recovery on a greenish pitch.
Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto wasted no time in sending Pakistan in to bat after winning the toss and had them on 81-3 at tea.
Mahmud gave the visitors the first breakthrough when Abdullah Shafique was smartly caught at gully by Zakir Hasan for two in the fourth over.
Shoriful then had Masood caught behind off a sharp delivery, with Bangladesh successfully reviewing a not out decision by South African umpire Adrian Holdstock.
Azam nicked a leg-side delivery in Shoriful’s next over and was caught by wicketkeeper Liton Das for his first home-ground duck in 14 Tests.
With AFP Inputs
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