On a scorching afternoon in Rawalpindi, three young and fiery fast bowlers smelled blood, and went for it
Mohammad Isam21-Aug-2024When Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana came running at Saud Shakeel and Saim Ayub for over after over in the scorching afternoon in Rawalpindi, it made for an intriguing battle. Three young, fiery fast bowlers from Bangladesh, totalling 15 Tests among them, coming at a Pakistan batting pair with 13 Tests between them was a sight to behold.Shoriful and Mahmud did the initial damage, reducing Pakistan to 16 for 3 in the ninth over. They banked heavily on accuracy as the movement off the pitch didn’t last too long. Their discipline paid off with the wickets of Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood and Babar Azam. There was an element of luck in all three dismissals but bowlers will tell you that great deliveries don’t always guarantee you wickets.In the previous two occasions when Pakistan batted first against Bangladesh, they had lost their third wickets in the 65th and 85th overs respectively. It showed the rapid growth of Bangladesh fast bowlers, who are making a difference with the new ball these days. It was also the just reward for those waiting at the stadium for four hours, following an extended rain delay.Related
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Ayub was then joined by Shakeel, Pakistan’s new vice-captain. Shakeel is playing his 11th Test like Shoriful but the ascent to the leadership role, ahead of this series, reflects what the team management thinks of Shakeel. He is rapidly building a strong reputation, but here he had an inexperienced opener at the other end, facing an attack that smelled blood.”The more maidens you bowl, the batter would feel under more pressure,” Mahmud said. “Then he tries to play at you. That’s why we build the pressure. We bowled dot balls today, and then went for the wicket-taking delivery. It gave us more chances of getting them. My process is usually to maintain accuracy with the new ball. I tried to keep my shape. I had to bowl with an upright seam to make the batters play more. We stuck to that plan. I tried to bowl the wicket-taking delivery, especially that would bring them forward.”Shakeel initially allowed the bowlers to blow off their steam. Ayub showed great restraint too, given his reputation of being a big-hitter. He resorted to soft hands, which was visible especially against deliveries that tempted him to drive hard. It was engrossing to see these five young cricketers adapt and adjust in their quest to outsmart each other.”I think in that moment [when you are in the middle of a match] we can’t do anything consciously,” Ayub said. “It is already in the subconscious mind, how to play according to the conditions. I just tried to watch the ball, and play according to the way I practised. It helped me during the match.”It wasn’t easy at the start. We had to take time. They didn’t give us a lot of margin. Tempo breaks, it moves from one team to the other. We waited for it, and then we came back after their good start. Hopefully we can take it further.”Pakistan’s fourth-wicket pair then started to press on a bit more as the three Bangladesh fast bowlers sagged in the oppressive heat. They batted at 5.24 per over for the 12.4 overs until the tea break.Shakeel started to walk down the wicket to distract the fast bowlers, before going for the sweep shot against Mehidy Hasan Miraz. He hit two fours off the offspinner, before Ayub slammed him over wide long-off for a six.Saim Ayub and Saud Shakeel put together a big partnership•PCBAyub said that he was aware of how the Bangladesh bowlers were getting on top of them, so it was important to stave off their attack.”I think the first thing is to watch the ball,” he said. “Then you have to figure out who is bowling well. What’s more effective – fast bowlers or spinners – on the day. You can’t leave the bad ball. Attacking cricket is taking advantage of the margin given to you by the opponent. Otherwise, if we get bogged down, they will dominate us. It is important to dominate.”The pair slowed down a bit after the break, going at 3.33 per over before Ayub reached his fifty. He fell soon after for 56 off 98 balls.”It was tough to start in these conditions,” Ayub said. “A partnership makes conditions look easier but you can’t take the red ball for granted. We wanted to play together for a long period. It is a tough condition for new batters at the crease.”Mahmud said that Bangladesh’s catching also made a difference in the day. Bangladesh have long suffered from dropped catches particularly in close-in positions, so it was refreshing to see Zakir Hasan, Litton Das and Mehidy hold on to their chances.”I think it is very important to get help from the fielders,” Mahmud said. “They gave a great effort today. They took some superb catches. It really feels great. [At the] end of the day, they are our team-mates. Tomorrow, my target would be to get at least two or three wickets for the team.”The one thing that Bangladesh perhaps missed out on was Shakib bowling earlier, against the two left-handers at the crease. Match-ups are crucial in T20s, but in the longer format, Shakib is well known for beating batters in the air, and could have been a better choice when Mehidy got swept regularly. That said, it was a pitch that had nothing for the spinners on the first day. The fast bowlers would hope to bowl with the same aggression on the second morning as Pakistan’s lower order will aim for a 300-plus total.