Pakistan beats Bangladesh in first Test with a convincing win

Pakistan has beaten Bangladesh in the first Test match of the two-match series by 8 wickets in Chittagong on Tuesday.

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— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 30, 2021

Courtesy of openers Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafique, the Pakistan opening pair formed a 151-run opening stand before Shafique was dismissed on 73. Meanwhile, Abid Ali fell short of his fourth Test century by 9 runs as Taijul Islam caught the Pakistan batter in front of the wickets.

The openers capitalised on their century partnership and took it further to 151 runs before Abdullah was dismissed by Mehidy Hasan.

Earlier, resuming Day 4 at 39/4, overnight batter Mushfiqur Rahim (16) was bowled by pacer Hassan Ali and the hosts lost their fifth wicket with the lead still being under 100. Yasir Ali had to retire, hurt after playing a knock of 36 and this brought Liton Das and Mehidy Hasan together at the crease.

Shaheen Shah Afridi went on to take five wickets as Bangladesh was bowled out for 157, setting a 202-run target for the visitors.

Meanwhile, leading the way to the win, Babar Azam and Azhar Ali sealed the deal for the side with a winning partnership and with back-to-back boundaries, Pakistan takes a 1-0 lead.

Pakistan stands on 24 points on the points table of the ICC World Test Championship.

The #WTC23 standings after Pakistan’s victory over Bangladesh 👇 pic.twitter.com/z8c8JgYDXX

— ICC (@ICC) November 30, 2021

Abid Ali bagged the Player of the Match award after his prolific innings against the hosts in Chittagong.

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— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) November 30, 2021

Meanwhile, in the post-match ceremony, skipper Babar Azam said: “The way Bangladesh played in the first innings that was really good but Shaheen and Hassan were outstanding. That’s the beauty of Test cricket that it allows you to make a comeback. We didn’t have much time to prepare for the Test but we gave our best. I am really pleased with the way Abdullah Shafique built his innings. Abid Ali was outstanding, scoring tough runs to pull the team out from difficult position.”