Shoriful double leaves Pakistan 81-3 in rain-hit first Bangladesh Test – Sport

Bangladesh left-arm paceman Shoriful Islam took two wickets in four balls to leave Pakistan struggling at 81-3 on a rain-hit opening day of the first Test in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.

The 23-year-old spearhead 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.

Saim Ayub was unbeaten on 42 and Saud Shakeel on 28 at the break, having added a fighting 65 in their fourth-wicket stand.

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto took no time in sending Pakistan in to bat after winning the toss and caught Pakistan napping at 16-3.

It was Shoriful’s new-ball partner Hasan Mahmud who 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 Shan caught behind off a sharp delivery, with Bangladesh successfully reviewing a not-out decision by South African umpire Adrian Holdstock.

Shan argued the decision by television umpire Martin Gough of England with the on-field officials as Bangladesh fielders celebrated the dismissal, refusing to accept he nicked the ball.

Babar 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.

No play was possible before lunch, with 230 minutes of action lost because some wet outfield patches left by overnight rain were deemed dangerous by the two umpires — Richard Kettleborough of England and Adrian Holdstock of South Africa.

The weather forecast for all five days is not encouraging with rain and bad light predicted.

Pakistan entered the Test with four fast bowlers in an all-pace attack with no frontline spinner, while Bangladesh included three pacers and two spinners.

All-rounder Aamer Jamal has missed out on a place for the first fixture of the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, which is set to be played from Wednesday.

The two-match series is part of the World Test Championship (WTC) third cycle (2023-2025) contested by nine teams. Pakistan is currently sixth and Bangladesh is eighth on the table.

The second Test will also be played in Rawalpindi, from August 30, after being moved from Karachi because of construction work at the stadium.

Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Agha Salman, Shaheen Shah Afridi

Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud

Umpires: Richard Kettleborough (ENG) and Adrian Holdstock (RSA)

TV umpire: Michael Gough (ENG)

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)