DHAKA: Salman Ali Agha insisted Pakistan would chase victory if Bangladesh set them a target of around 260 on the final day, keeping alive the prospect of a result after the hosts tightened their grip on the opening Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Monday.

Bangladesh reached 152-3 in their second innings at stumps on the rain-hit fourth day, extending their overall lead to 179 with seven wickets still in hand. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was unbeaten on 58 alongside veteran Mushfiqur Rahim, who was on 16, after another assured batting display from the hosts.

Despite losing almost an entire session to torrential rain and bad light curtailing play late in the evening, Bangladesh edged steadily towards a potentially match-defining position through Najmul and Mominul Haque, whose second substantial partnership of the Test once again frustrated Pakistan’s bowlers.

Pakistan, however, maintained they remained firmly in the contest.

“Definitely we’ll go for the win,” Salman said after play. “If they are brave enough to give us 70 overs and 260, we will definitely go for the chase.”

Whether Bangladesh opt for aggression or safety will likely determine the direction of the final day. For now, though, the hosts appear in control after recovering strongly from another shaky start.

Resuming on seven without loss after securing a slender 27-run first-innings lead, Bangladesh quickly stumbled under cloudy skies with the floodlights switched on from the outset.

Mohammad Abbas continued his excellent match by trapping Mahmudul Hasan Joy lbw for five with a delivery that jagged sharply back into the right-hander. Hasan Ali then struck to remove Shadman Islam for 10, extracting awkward bounce that induced an edge comfortably taken by Saud Shakeel at gully.

At 23-2, Pakistan sensed an opportunity to expose Bangladesh’s middle order early enough to keep the target manageable.

Instead, Najmul and Mominul resumed the repair work they had begun in the first innings, where their 170-run stand had laid the platform for Bangladesh’s 413.

The pair settled quickly despite disciplined bowling from Pakistan’s seamers. Mominul adopted a cautious approach initially, content to absorb pressure, while Najmul gradually became more fluent and looked increasingly authoritative through the off-side.

Pakistan briefly threatened when Salman’s off-spin induced an outside edge from Mominul, but Mohammad Rizwan failed to hold on to a difficult chance behind the stumps.

That proved to be Pakistan’s best opening of the morning.

As the session wore on, Bangladesh grew increasingly comfortable. Najmil drove crisply whenever width was offered, while Mominul used his feet effectively against the spinners. Their unbroken 70-run stand carried Bangladesh safely to lunch at 92-2.

The momentum, however, was interrupted by heavy rain that washed out the entire afternoon session and delayed the restart for nearly three hours.

Any concern that the interruption might break Bangladesh’s rhythm quickly disappeared once play resumed.

Najmul and Mominul picked up seamlessly from where they had left off, rotating strike calmly and capitalising on loose deliveries. Abbas remained accurate and occasionally extracted movement from a surface that had flattened considerably, but Pakistan struggled to create sustained pressure.

Shan Masood delayed introducing left-arm spinner Noman Ali until after 35 overs, seemingly reluctant to bowl him to two settled left-handers. Yet Noman immediately looked threatening, finding rough patches outside off stump and generating uneven bounce.

Abdullah Fazal dropped a difficult chance at short leg off Mominul shortly after Noman entered the attack.

The breakthrough eventually came through Shaheen Shah Afridi shortly after both batters reached personal landmarks.

Najmul completed his half-century with a composed single, registering his second fifty-plus score of the match after his first-innings century. Moments earlier, Mominul had brought up a patient half-century off 102 balls, becoming only the third Bangladeshi batter after Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim to cross 5,000 Test runs.

But Shaheen struck almost immediately afterwards, finding seam movement back into Mominul, who edged behind for 56 after helping add 105 runs for the third wicket.

It marked the third century partnership between Najmul and Mominul in Tests and only the third instance of a Bangladesh pair posting century stands in both innings of the same match.

Pakistan briefly hoped the wicket might trigger a collapse late in the evening session, but Najmul and Mushfiqur safely negotiated the remaining overs before bad light forced an early close.

Bangladesh batting coach Mohammad Ashraful later reiterated that his side remained focused on forcing a result rather than merely batting out time.

“We are playing to win,” Ashraful said. “If we can bowl 70 to 75 overs tomorrow and if there is no rain, there will be the opportunity to play 98 overs. I think we will have a chance to win.”

Scoreboard

BANGLADESH (1st Innings) 413 (Najmul Hossain 101; Mohammad Abbas 5-92)

PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 386 (Azan Awais 103; Mehidy Hasan 5-102)

BANGLADESH (2nd Innings, overnight 7-0):

Mahmudul Hasan lbw b Abbas 5

Shadman Islam c Saud b Hasan 10

Mominul Haque c Rizwan b Shaheen 56

Najmul Hossain not out 58

Mushfiqur Rahim not out 16

EXTRAS (LB-5, NB-1, W-1) 7

TOTAL (for three wickets, 50.3 overs) 152

STILL TO BAT: Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Ebadot Hossain

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-15 (Mahmudul), 2-23 (Shadman), 3-128 (Mominul)

BOWLING: Shaheen 12-2-39-1, Abbas 14-3-35-1 (1w, 1nb), Hasan 11.3-2-23-1, Salman 5-0-18-0, Noman 8-0-32-0

Published in Dawn, May 12th, 2026