Liton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim frustrate Pakistan with unbroken stand of 204 after hosts slip to 49-4 on the first morning of the first Test; Das reaches his first Test century in his 26th Test off 199 balls
Friday 26 November 2021 12:54, UK
Liton Das hit his maiden century as Bangladesh recovered from a shaky start to reach 253-4 against Pakistan on the opening day of the first Test, in Chattogram.
Das (113no) and Mushfiqur Rahim (82no) combined for an undefeated 204-run partnership after Bangladesh was reduced to 49-4 in the first session.
The first hour belonged to the Pakistan fast bowlers, who utilized the early moisture on the pitch, to remove openers Saif Hasan and Shadman Islam for 14 apiece.
Off-spinner Sajid Khan earned his side a big breakthrough when captain Mominul Haque (six) nicked behind and then Najmul Shanto (14) fell to Faheem Ashraf.
Das and Mushfiqur were cautious at the start and survived some tricky moments before they dominated for the remainder of the day.
Das, who was dropped from the Twenty20 squad following a poor T20 World Cup, chopped left-arm spinner Nauman Ali's short delivery past backward point to the boundary to bring up his half-century off 95 balls.
With the pitch offering nothing for the bowlers, the Pakistan pacers came up with a short balls plan which almost worked as Das, on 67, mistimed one off Afridi but Khan put down the catch at midwicket.
Mushfiqur, meanwhile, raised his 24th half-century with consecutive boundaries against fast bowler Ali off 108 balls. He survived because of a no-ball by Nauman Ali after sweeping straight to point.
Playing with caution, Das reached his first Test century off 199 balls after pushing Nauman to mid-off for a single.
