Twitter Reactions: Shafique, Abid take Pakistan within touching distance after Shaheen Afridi’s fifer

Pakistan, well and truly are on the driver’s seat in their opening Test against Bangladesh at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. At the close of Day four, their openers made sure that the visitors needed 93 runs to win with all their second-innings wickets intact. The Tigers had gained a significant lead in the first innings, but they haven’t quite been able to capitalise on the opportunities.

Shaheen wreaks havoc

After losing four wickets in the final session of the fourth day, the Tigers couldn’t recover much. Mushfiqur Rahim, who scored in the 90s in the first innings, scored 16 before Hasan Ali castled him. However, he surpassed Tamim Iqbal as the leading run-scorer for Bangladesh in Test cricket. Thereafter, Yasir Ali and Liton Das put their heads down and put on 47 runs for the sixth wicket.

However, Yasir Ali copped a blow on the side of his helmet by a vicious bouncer from Shaheen Shah Afridi. Subsequently, he was ruled out of the game due concussion. The right-hander scored 36 runs before walking off the park. Nurul Hasan Sohan came in as his substitute. Liton carried on from where he left off in the first innings. He scored 59 runs before Shaheen accounted for his wicket.

Shafique, Abid make hay

Shaheen went on to pick up five wickets as Bangladesh were bowled out for 157 in 56.2 overs. Sajid Khan was also impressive as he got three scalps. Hasan Ali, who got a fifer in the first innings, got two wickets in the second. The target of 202 was expected to be a tricky one for Pakistan, but Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafique made sure that the home team wasn’t allowed to make a comeback.

Shafique and Abid Ali played with precision in the first innings and they carried forward their form. Abid was the first of the two to get to a half-century off 92 balls. Soon after Shafique also notched his fifty off 88 balls. The duo has put on an unbeaten 109-run stand for the opening wicket. Taijul Islam picked up seven wickets in the first innings, but is yet to pick up a single in the second innings.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to the day’s play