DARWIN: Pacer Khurram Shehzad took three wickets as Pakistan Shaheens restricted Bangaldesh ‘A’ to 258 on the first day of the second and final four-day match at the DXC Arena on Friday.

Khurram, who played a Test for Pakistan in their tour to Australia late last year, took the wickets Bangladesh ‘A’ opener Parvaiz Hosain Emon and middle-order batter Amite Hasan and Mahidul Islam Ankon.

Khurram’s new-ball partner Kashif Ali and spinners Faisal Akram and Kamran Ghulam shared the remaining six wickets among them, while wicket-keeper Haseebullah Khan was involved in the run-out of Bangladesh ‘A’ batter Hasan Murad.

The Shaheens’ response to the Bangladesh ‘A’ innings got a shaky start, with captain and opener Sahibzada Farhan and his opening partner Haseebullah losing their wickets to pacer Ripon Mondol, leaving the Pakistan outfit at 39-2 at stumps.

Kashif drew first blood for the Shaheens, after Farhan opted to bowl first, as he dismissed Shadman Islam in the eighth over. Parvez (30 off 75) stitched a 60-run second wicket partnership with skipper Mahmudul Hasan Joy before Khurram struck to remove him.

Soon, Khurram and Faisal gave Bangladesh ‘A’ a double blow as the former pinned Amite leg-before wicket for seven in 28th over while the latter got rid of Shahadat Hossain, in the following over, for a solitary run. With Bangladesh ‘A’ losing momentum at 104-4, skipper, Mahmudul (69 off 90), joined forces with Aich Mollah to put on a 54-run fifth-wicket partnership before falling prey to Kashif.

Another double strike left Bangladesh ‘A’ reeling at 188-7, when Aich Mollah (55 off 80) was caught behind soon to be followed by Hasan, seven-ball duck.

Vital contributions from Mahidul (31 off 43), batting at seven, Rejaur Rehman Raja (28 off 34), batting at nine, and Ripon (17 off 40), batting at 10, helped their team cross the 250-run mark before falling for 258 in 67.3 overs.

Scores in brief:

BANGLADESH ‘A’ 258 in 67.3 overs (Mahmudul Hasan Joy 69, Aich Mollah 55, Mahidul Islam Ankon 31, Parvez Hossain Emon 30; Khurram Shahzad 3-69, Kamran Ghulam 2-6, Kashif Ali 2-21, Faisal Akram 2-87); PAKISTAN SHAHEENS 39-2 in 16 overs (Haseebullah 18, Omair Bin Yousuf 7 not out; Ripon Mondol 2-22).

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2024