Pakistan fielders have often made headlines for making a mess of simple catches. On Day 2 of the second Test, left-arm pacer Mir Hamza who replaced Shaheen Afridi bowled a perfect delivery to induce an edge off Bangladesh opener Shadman Islam's bat. However, Pakistan’s newly-appointed vice-captain Saud Shakeel made a mess of the opportunity.
After Pakistan got bowled out for 274, skipper Shan Masood handed the new ball to Hamza. He bowled a length delivery angling away from Shadman. He got decent bounce from the pitch and Shadman edged it to fifth slip fielder Shakeel. He dropped the catch and fourth slip fielder Saim Ayub attempted it. Ayub could not hold on to it either and third slip fielder Babar Azam dived but the ball had already bounced. The on-field umpire was left stunned as he tried to figure out what happened in the slip cordon.
Hamza did not vent out as the catch was dropped off the first ball. He turned around and started walking back to his mark while the slip fielders rued the missed opportunity.
On the fourth ball, Shadman rubbed salt on Hamza's wounds. He overpitched on the leg side and Shadman flicked it towards deep square leg for a boundary. At the end of Day 2’s play, Bangladesh were 10 for no loss.
Shadman in good form
The dropped catch may prove to be costly for the hosts. In the first Test, he played a crucial role scoring 93 runs from 183 balls in the first innings. He shared crucial partnerships with the top-order batters and Mushfiqur Rahim. In the second innings, he remained unbeaten for nine runs as Bangladesh created history by registering their maiden Test win over Pakistan.
Miraz’s fifer, 3 fifties on Day 2
Earlier, on Day 2, Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and opted to field first. Bangladesh made one change to the side by bringing in Taskin Ahmed for Shoriful Islam. Taskin bagged three wickets whereas Mehidy Hasan Miraz registered a five-wicket haul. Opener Saim Ayub, skipper Masood and Agha Salman scored their respective half-centuries as Pakistan posted 274 on the board. Meanwhile, Babar Azam's poor run in Test cricket continued as he failed to score a half-century in 15th consecutive innings.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
