DARWIN: Bangladesh ‘A’ put up a fighting display with the bat against Pakistan Shaheens as their scorecard read 203-4 in 62 overs, trailing by 264 runs, when the stumps were drawn on the second day of the first four-day match here at the DXC Arena on Saturday.

Shadman Islam (88 off 167) and Aich Mollah (70 off 113) resisted with a 153-run third-wicket partnership after Shaheens had reduced Bangladesh ‘A’ to 23-2 in 12.1 overs. Pacer Mohammad Ali dismissed Parvez Hossain Emon for a paltry three while fellow fast bowler Khurram Shahzad got rid of Amite Hasan (eight).

Shadman and Mollah batted for around 38 overs before the latter was run out by Shaheens skipper Sahibzada Farhan. Two overs later, Shahnawaz Dahani dismissed Shadman before Ariful Islam retired hurt as he left the ground at the end of 59th over.

Shahadat Hossain and Hasan Murad will resume the batting for Bangladesh ‘A’ on the third day.

For Shaheens, Khurram, Ali and Dahani picked up one wicket each while spinners Mubasir Khan and Mehran Mumtaz remained wicketless.

Earlier, Pakistan added 92 runs in 17.1 overs to their overnight score of 375-2 before declaring the innings at 467-3 after facing 96.1 overs. Mohammad Huraira (218 off 247) added 57 more runs to his unbeaten overnight total of 161 while also bringing up the second double ton of his first-class career.

Hasan struck to remove Huraira in the 94th over, ending 204-run third-wicket partnership, as Omair Bin Yousuf joined Kamran Ghulam (100 not out off 161) in the middle. The declaration call came right after Kamran brought up his 17th first-class century.

Ripon Mondal, who picked up two wickets, and Hasan, who plucked one, were the only successful bowlers for Bangladesh ‘A’ among the six players who bowled.

Scores in brief:

Bangladesh ‘A’ trail by 264 runs

PAKISTAN SHAHEENS 467-3 (decl.) in 96.1 overs (Mohammad Huraira 218, Kamran Ghulam 100 not out, Sahibzada Farhan 66, Umar Amin 54; Ripon Mondol 2-84, Hasan Murad 1-130); BANGLADESH ‘A’ 203-4 in 62 overs (Shadman Islam 88, Aich Mollah 70, Shahadat Hossain 15 not out; Muhammad Ali 1-34, Khurram Shahzad 1-44, Shahnawaz Dahani 1-50).

Published in Dawn, July 21st, 2024