Nahid Rana’s opening delivery of the first Test was a bouncer, not express pace but still clocked at 140.9 kph. Pakistan debutant Azan Awais was late on the pull, very late in fact, as the ball thudded into the front of his helmet. It sparked excitement on a green Mirpur surface where Bangladesh’s pacers believed they held the advantage in pace. Yet an inability to bowl consistently in the right areas allowed Pakistan to cruise to 179 for one in 46 overs at stumps on day two yesterday.
It was not only Rana, introduced as first change, who generated early excitement. Taskin Ahmed extracted an outside edge in his opening over, though the chance fell short of third slip. But Taskin, usually so consistent with his lengths, was spraying it around and not holding a line, with the corridor of uncertainty largely absent.
Ebadot Hossain also forced an edge that saw Mahmudul Hasan produce an acrobatic effort, but the chance went begging. Like the others, Ebadot leaked boundary balls as Bangladesh’s pace attack looked deflated towards the close of play.
Bangladesh senior assistant coach Mohammad Salahuddin concurred that the green surface got the pacers “focus on pace a bit too much” instead of “bowling in the right areas”.
“Mentally, when any fast bowler sees grass on the wicket, there’s always excitement. When there’s movement and the ball is carrying quickly, bowlers start thinking they can beat batters with pace,” Salahuddin said.
Earlier in the morning, Bangladesh failed to capitalise with the bat after resuming on 301 for four, eventually folding for 413. Pakistan, meanwhile, ended the day in a commanding position thanks to Azan’s unbeaten 85 and fellow debutant Abdullah Fazal’s 37.
“Pakistan actually bowled very well in the morning. It was very difficult for us to build partnerships,” Salahuddin said. “I think we bowled a bit erratically today, but since this is Test cricket, there’s always a chance to come back,” he added.
Bangladesh’s bowling figures reflected the inconsistency. Taskin and Rana conceded at economy rates of 5 and 5.2 respectively, while Ebadot went at 4.75. Pakistan opener Imam-ul-Haq, who scored a brisk 45, felt that boundary balls played into their hands.
“We were lucky that we were getting boundaries every one or two overs and it was good for the debutants that they didn’t feel the pressure of runs drying up,” Imam said in the post-day press conference.
Pakistan pacer Muhammad Abbas, meanwhile, completed a five-wicket haul after a tireless effort on day one, thriving through game awareness and relentless accuracy -- qualities Bangladesh quicks struggled to replicate.
“The strength of Abbas is that he does not give you anything,” Imam said. “When we play county cricket, it is difficult to face him, especially on a green track where he always asks you questions again and again and hits the right areas.”
That discipline, more than raw pace, ultimately marked the difference between the two attacks over the course of the day.
