KHULNA: Tamim Iqbal smashed Bangladesh’s highest Test score of 206 and his opening partner Imrul Kayes 150 as the first Test against Pakistan petered out into a draw after another run feast in Khulna on Saturday.

The hosts made light of the 296-run deficit in the first innings as they posted a mammoth 555 for six in their second knock before the match was called off after tea on the fifth and final day.

The draw was a morale-booster for Bangladesh, who had lost all their eight previous Tests against Pakistan, ahead of the second and final match starting in Dhaka on Wednesday.

A stalemate was always on the cards on the heart-breaking pitch for bowlers at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium which produced 1,515 runs for the loss of just 26 wickets over the five days.

Bangladesh had made 332 in the first innings after electing to take first strike and Pakistan replied with 628 on the back of a double-century from Mohammad Hafeez.

Rival captains Mushfiqur Rahim of Bangladesh and Misbah-ul-Haq of Pakistan both blamed the wicket for the high-scoring draw.

“It was difficult to take 20 wickets on this pitch,” said Mushfiqur. “But I hope we will be able to do that in the next match. We will prepare well for it.”

Misbah said the pitch provided no assistance to either the fast bowlers or the spinners.

“It was very slow which made it difficult for the bowlers,” he said. “The batsmen really enjoyed themselves in this Test.

“I thought with a lead of around 300, we could have put Bangladesh under pressure, but all credit to their batsmen, especially Tamim and Imrul, for saving the game.

“But we must do better in the field, both with our bowling and catching, if we are to win the second Test.”

The home team’s batting assault left Pakistan still searching for their first win on the tour after being whitewashed 3-0 in the one-dayers and also losing the Twenty20 International.

The huge lead was wiped off by a record 312-run opening stand between left-handers Tamim and Imrul Kayes, which was Bangladesh’s highest-ever partnership for any wicket.

“I am very pleased because whatever I had planned came off nicely,” said the 26-year-old man-of-the-match Tamim.

“I needed this innings as much as my team did. It was not going to be easy after we were 296 runs behind.

But we all played our role. It was a great team effort. We have done well in the one-dayers and now we are proving ourselves in the Tests also.”

Imrul was dismissed for 150 in the morning session, holing out in the deep against left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar after striking 16 boundaries and three sixes.

But Tamim continued unhindered as he moved into the 190s by striking leg-spinner Yasir Shah for two consecutive sixes before reaching 201 with a straight-driven six off seamer Junaid Khan.

That shot helped him surpass Mushfiqur’s 200 against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2013, which was the previous best Test score by a Bangladeshi batsman.

Pakistan finally got their man when Mohammad Hafeez, who also scored a double century in Pakistan’s innings, beat Tamim who hit 17 boundaries and seven sixes, with spin and Sarfraz Ahmed stumped him just before tea.

Tamim’s partnership with Imrul was the first triple century partnership for the country in the longest form of the game. The previous highest stand for Bangladesh was the 267 for the fifth wicket between Mohammad Ashraful and Mushfiqur against Sri Lanka at Galle in 2013.

The pair resumed on 273, trailing the visitors by 23 runs, and added 39 more runs before the stand was finally broken.

In the process, Tamim and Imrul also broke a world record that stood for over 50 years — the highest second-innings opening partnership in Tests. England’s Colin Cowdrey and Geoff Pullar had added 290 in the second innings against South Africa at The Oval in 1960.

Pakistan’s misery in the field continued after Tamim’s departure as star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan stepped in to hit an unbeaten 76.

Spinners Yasir (0-123) and Zulfiqar (1-125) were the most expensive of the seven bowlers used by Pakistan to contain the flow of runs.

Scoreboard

BANGLADESH (1st Innings) 332 (Mominul Haque 80, Imrul Kayes 51, Mohammad Mahmudullah 49; Wahab Riaz 3-55, Yasir Shah 3-86, Mohammad Hafeez 2-47, Zulfiqar Babar 2-99).

PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 628 (Mohammad Hafeez 224, Azhar Ali 83, Asad Shafiq 83, Sarfraz Ahmed 82, Misbah-ul-Haq 59; Taijul Islam 6-163, Shuvagata Hom 2-120).

BANGLADESH (2nd Innings, overnight 273-0):

Tamim Iqbal st Sarfraz b Hafeez 206 Imrul Kayes c sub b Zulfiqar 150 Mominul Haque b Junaid 21 Mohammad Mahmudullah lbw b Junaid 40 Shakib Al Hasan not out 76 Mushfiqur Rahim lbw b Hafeez 0 Soumya Sarkar c Hafeez b Asad 33 Shuvagata Hom not out 20

EXTRAS (LB-4, W-2, NB-3) 9

TOTAL (for six wkts, 136 overs) 555

FALL OF WKTS: 1-312, 2-345, 3-399, 4-463, 5-464, 6-524.

BOWLING: Junaid Khan 21-5-88-2 (3nb, 1w); Zulfiqar Babar 32-1-125-1; Mohammad Hafeez 20-0-82-2; Wahab Riaz 20-3-75-0 (1w); Yasir Shah 30-2-123-0; Azhar Ali 6-1-26-0; Asad Shafiq 7-0-32-1.

RESULT: Match drawn.

UMPIRES: N.J. Llong (England) and R.E.J. Martinesz (Sri Lanka).

TV UMPIRE: P.R. Reiffel (Australia).

MATCH REFEREE: J.J. Crowe (New Zealand).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Tamim Iqbal.

SECOND TEST: Dhaka, May 6-10.

Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2015

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