Masood, Rizwan had a verbal spat on Day 1. PC-X/@Sher__Ali
As Test Cricket returned after a long break of 124 days, Bangladesh and Pakistan are presenting top-drawer cricket on Day 1 of the Mirpur Test on Friday. Shan Masood won the toss and opted to bowl first.
Pakistan bowlers were breathing fire early in the morning with the new red cherry. As a result, Pakistan bagged two early wickets, but Bangladesh went into survival mode post that.
Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto led from the front, with solid assistance from Mominul Haque. The duo added 170 runs between them for the third wicket - the third-highest for Bangladesh for the given wicket.
'Overclever' Mohammad Rizwan frustrates Shan Masood
As Najmul and Mominul punished Pakistan for close to two sessions, the Shan Masood-led side were found clueless at countless moments. Adding insult to injury, catches also went down.
During the 42nd over of the innings, wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan was seen changing the field even though Captain Shan Masood was present on the field. Rizwan's action left the skipper mad and clueless at the same time.
Although Masood was left furious, he didn't notice Rizwan's thought and let the field get changed.
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The Mohammad Rizwan's expertise didn’t work for Pakistan, as Najmul and Mominul went on to score 40 more runs beyond that moment. Eventually, Mohammad Abbas broke the gigantic partnership by getting Shanto in front of the stumps, but only after the Bangladesh skipper notched up a century.
Najmul Hossain Shanto sets history for Bangladesh
Najmul Hossain Shanto is going through the purplest span of his cricketing career. He enjoyed his time with a splendid hundred, coming at a rapid rate, decorated with 12 boundaries and two biggies.
On Friday, Shanto also slammed his ninth Test ton, and fifth as Bangladesh captain. As a result, he became the first Bangladesh skipper with as many Test hundreds, surpassing Mushfiqur Rahim, who had four tons as captain.
Moreover, the latest hundred was Shanto’s fourth Test century in his last eight innings.
Why is Babar Azam not playing?
Even though Pakistan have yet to bat in this Test match, it is certain that they will be trailing by a mammoth total in their first innings itself. Why did Shan Masood elect to bat fourth on this track will definitely go down as the biggest mystery, but Babar Azam's exclusion is also the right question to ask.
Ahead of the Mirpur Test, reports surfaced that the PSL 2026-winning Babar Azam wouldn't be participating due to a left knee injury. However, a report from a top Pakistani journalist states that the star batter is benched to test newer faces.
Abdullah Fazal and Azan Awais are slotted in Pakistan's Playing XI for the first Test, playing as an opener and number four batter, respectively.
It is worth mentioning that Babar Azam recently won his maiden PSL trophy as captain. Moreover, he ended the season with a record-levelling 588 runs.
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