Follow-on looms for Bangladesh after Sajid Khan’s six-for

The visitors declared at 300 for 4 in the second session

Pakistan 300 for 4 (Babar 76, Azhar 56, Rizwan 53*, Fawad 50*, Taijul 2-73) vs Bangladesh

Pakistan declared their first innings on 300 for 4 on day four an hour and ten minutes after the lunch break. Mohammad Rizwan and Fawad Alam were unbeaten on 53 and 50 respectively, playing aggressively in their brief time in the second session.

Rizwan reached his seventh Test fifty after surviving a chance early in the session. Taijul Islam fumbled a pick-up at the deep square-leg boundary off Ebadot Hossain. Fawad struck three boundaries off Taijul, while Rizwan smacked him over long-on for a six.

Bangladesh’s fast bowlers began brightly on the fourth morning to pick up two Pakistan wickets by lunch. The visitors were 242 for 4, having lost both overnight batters after play started 80 minutes late due to rain.

Pakistan lost Azhar Ali in the second over of the morning, top-edging a pull off Ebadot Hossain, with wicketkeeper Liton Das comfortably taking the catch. Two overs later, Khaled Ahmed had Babar Azam lbw with a delivery that seamed into the Pakistan captain’s pads. Azhar made 56 of 144 balls with eight fours, while Babar struck nine fours and a six in his 76 off 129 balls.

It was Khaled Ahmed’s first Test wicket after 69.4 overs, bowled over three Tests in three years into his international career. It was just a reward for a good spell, and Khaled celebrated the big wicket with a huge roar and a clenched fist; his team-mates responded in kind, too.

Ebadot also bowled with a bit more confidence after taking Azhar’s wicket. He put both Mohammad Rizwan and Fawad Alam in trouble; Fawad faintly edged Ebadot, but neither bowler nor wicketkeeper noticed the inflection.

He also got one to move away from Rizwan at the last moment, but while the umpire adjudged it lbw, replays showed it had taken his outside edge and fell short of the wicketkeeper. Rizwan later survived a leg-before decision against Taijul Islam, missing a sweep, but the ball tracking showed that the ball would have dramatically spun away from the stumps.

The day began 80 minutes after the scheduled 9.30am start due to light rain early in the morning. Pakistan had been waiting on 188 for two for a long time, after only 63.2 overs were bowled in the first three days. There was no play on the third day, the first total washout in Bangladesh in six years.