A wet fourth day at the Shere Bangla Stadium left this first Test delicately balanced. Bangladesh closed on 147 for 3, a lead of 179, after only 46 overs were possible. The home side would like another 70-odd runs before pointing their bowlers at Pakistan; the tourists fancy anything below 260 in roughly 70 overs. Squint and it feels simple, yet neither camp is sure where the advantage lies.
“Right now, we can’t say who has the upper hand in this Test,” Pakistan all-rounder Salman Agha admitted after stumps. “Tomorrow is going to be an exciting day of Test cricket. We just want to get them out as quickly as we can, that’s what our strategy is going to be. If they really give us 260 to chase in 70 overs, we will definitely go for the chase. But I don’t think they will do that.”
Agha added, “If they want to score 100 runs in 20 overs tomorrow, that’s brilliant – but it is going to be very risky. Personally I want them to give us 60-70 overs to chase 260-odd runs. Somehow I think they won’t [do that]. I think their first priority will be to take us out of the game, and then do whatever they need to do.”
Najmul Hossain Shanto, fresh from a first-innings century, steadied Bangladesh again. His 57 not out, alongside Mominul Haque’s 48, rescued the innings after both openers were removed cheaply for the second time in the match. The pair added 105, blunting a Pakistan pace attack that began the day snorting fire – Mohammad Abbas even aimed a few choice words at Mominul during a particularly lively spell.
Batting coach Mohammad Ashraful, never short of optimism, sees a path to victory. “We want to win this Test match,” Ashraful said. “If we can bowl 70 or 75 overs, we can bowl them out. We haven’t decided when we will declare the innings, but I think there is still enough time for us to win the game.”
That note of confidence was tempered by a reminder that the pitch, slow yet offering occasional seam, punishes lazy strokes. “We have to continue batting well tomorrow,” he said. “It is a wicket that demands you to bat properly. You must have seen how teams have been hurt by an ordinary third innings ever after scoring 400-500 runs, especially in the last four or five years of Test cricket.”
The struggle of the openers – Shadman Islam and Mahmudul Hasan Joy managed only 24 runs between them across two innings – has not spooked the team hierarchy. “I am not worried about the openers,” Ashraful said. “We had three big opening stands in the last Test series [against Ireland]. I think Joy scored something like 235-265 runs. He had a career-best 171 against Ireland. Shadman scored around 190 runs.”
“I understand that they didn’t get runs in both innings in this game. We were put into bat; it wasn’t easy to survive against the new ball. We didn’t bat according to our expectations. Our experienced batters recovered very well. We are hopeful that both our openers will return to form in the next match.”
From Pakistan’s angle the equation does not feel complicated: strike early, chase bravely. They possess the firepower – Shaheen Shah Afridi bowled just three overs today yet still found bounce, while Abbas has already bagged five in the match. Their batting, with Babar Azam lurking, will fancy any target that begins with a two.
Bangladesh, though, can bank on Taijul Islam’s left-arm spin and a lively new-ball pair of Ebadot Hossain and Khaled Ahmed. If rain stays away – and the forecast is encouraging – they believe 70 overs is plenty.
Low-scoring Tests can swing on a single misjudgement. Tomorrow one side must blink first: Bangladesh by declaring too late or Pakistan by chasing too hard. For all the talk, neither captain quite knows which gamble to take, yet a result still feels more likely than a handshake.
