Bangladesh vs Pakistan: Earthquake hits Chattogram ahead of opening Test

Prior to the opening Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh, Chattogram went through a tumultuous period after the city experienced an earthquake early morning on Friday, November 26. Tremors, with a magnitude of 6.3 on the Richter scale, were felt 175 km east of Chattogram in Bangladesh.

As per the Euro-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), the earthquake struck the Myanmar-India border region. Tremors were also felt in Tripura, Assam, West Bengal in the eastern part of India. The earthquake stayed for around 30 seconds as per the EMSC website.

As far as the Test match in Chattogram is concerned, it started it started in time despite the earthquake in the city. As per Cricbuzz, both the teams reached the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on time and started practising. Thereafter, the toss also took place on time.

Bangladesh bat first after winning toss

The Tigers, led by Mahmudullah, came into the series on the back of a 0-3 series whitewash at the hand of Babar Azam’s Pakistan. In the first and third match, the home team had every chance of winning, but they failed to capitalise on the opportunities provided to them.

The Test team is led by Mominul Haque Showrabh, Bangladesh’s leading century maker in the longer format. After winning the toss, the hosts opted to bat first. The Tigers handed Yasir Ali Chowdhury his maiden international camp after the right-hander made the squad quite a few times.

Bangladesh don’t have the services of Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan in the series. Tamim is yet to recover from the thumb injury that he sustained in the Everest Premier League earlier this year. BCB physician said that the veteran batter needs one more month of rest to regain full fitness.

Tamim won’t be a part of the two-match Test series against New Zealand as well. Shakib, on the other hand, was included in the squad for the first Test against Pakistan, but his selection depended on his fitness before the game. In the end, he couldn’t make the cut as he hasn’t recovered from his hamstring injury.

Shakib’s participation in the Dhaka Test is also under the clouds. Mahmudullah isn’t a part of the Test setup anymore after he announced his retirement, formally, earlier this week.