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Bangladesh took advantage of ideal circumstances to win what could have been a crucial toss and used the new ball brilliantly to remove three early wickets. However, half-centuries from Saim Ayub and Saud Shakeel ensured that Pakistan finished a shortened first day on a level footing.
When play was stopped because to bad light, Pakistan was at 158 for 4, much better off after the fourth-wicket combination scored an impressive 98 to save the country from 16 for 3. In just his second Test match, Ayub overcame a challenging early phase when facing the new ball before emerging with his first-ever half-century. After being elevated to vice captain, Shakeel maintained his remarkable ascent through the Pakistani team by becoming their joint-fastest batsman to reach 1000 Test runs.
When it came to managing Bangladesh’s seamers, Ayub and Shakeel in particular took a proactive approach, frequently shuffling out of their crease to disrupt their lengths and limit the amount of movement they could produce.
The partnership between the two left-handers was ended by stumps for Bangladesh, as Hasan Mahmud persuaded Ayub to drive at a delivery that was slanted over him but not quite full enough for the hit. It was his second wicket, and it was conceptually similar to his first: the batsman was forced to take a risk by consistent good lengths against an infrequent, obviously driveable delivery.
With an unbroken stand of 44 for the fifth wicket, Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan guided Pakistan to stumps, the sole victory for Bangladesh in a 20-over post-tea session.
Ayub, Shakeel, and Rizwan’s alliances may have revealed one flaw in Bangladesh’s offensive strategy. In contrast to Pakistan, who selected four frontline seamers for this Test match, Bangladesh chose two spin-bowling all-rounders and three seamers.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, an offspinner, was sent in at the beginning of the 14th over with two left-handers at the crease. He took the brunt of a well-planned counterattack, giving up 24 runs in four overs. He didn’t bowl terribly, but this early in the match, Ayub and Shakeel went after him, using their full reach to clinically sweep him off a good length, as there was no real aid for the spinners.
Bangladesh didn’t bring on their second spinner until the 39th over, and Pakistan was as merciless against Shakib Al Hasan, as Rizwan hit him for two consecutive fours in his opening over. In six overs, the two spinners combined to give up 36 runs.