LAHORE   -   Mushfiqur Rahim’s heroic 191-run innings led Bangladesh to a commanding position against Pakistan on a record-breaking day at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Mushfiqur became only the second Bangladeshi batter to fall in the 190s, following Mohammad Ashraful’s 190, leaving Pakistan with a daunting task on the penultimate day of the first Test.Starting the fourth day at an overnight score of 55, Mushfiqur guided Bangladesh to a formidable total of 565, the team’s third-highest score in an away Test. His innings was finally curtailed by Mohammad Ali, who trapped him at 191. Mushfiqur’s monumental effort included 22 boundaries and a six, as he spent over eight and a half hours at the crease, facing 341 deliveries.At stumps, Pakistan, trailing by 117 runs, had reached 23-1, with Abdullah Shafique (12) and captain Shan Masood (9) at the crease. Saim Ayub was the lone wicket to fall, dismissed for just one run. Mushfiqur’s innings was bolstered by a 196-run partnership with Mehidy Hasan Miraz for the seventh wicket, a stand that broke a 48-year-old record for the highest seventh-wicket partnership against Pakistan. The previous record of 186 runs was set by New Zealand’s Warren Lees and Sir Richard Hadlee in Karachi in 1976. Mehidy’s gritty 77 off 179 balls, despite being dropped twice, further frustrated the Pakistani bowlers. Shaheen Shah Afridi eventually claimed his wicket, finishing with figures of 2-88 .Naseem Shah provided early hope for Pakistan by dismissing Litton Das, who added just four runs to his overnight score of 52. However, Pakistan’s bowlers struggled to make inroads afterward, with Mushfiqur and Mehidy’s partnership blunting their efforts for another 56 overs. The tail-end collapse saw Hasan Mahmud dismissed for a duck by Shaheen, followed by the quick wickets of Mehidy and Shoriful Islam, who contributed a brisk 22 off 14 balls before falling to Naseem. Naseem was the pick of the bowlers with 3 for 93, while Shaheen, Mohammad Ali, and Khurram Shahzad each took two wickets. Despite bowling 41 overs, Salman Ali Agha ended wicketless, though he was unfortunate as two catches were dropped off his bowling. Behind the stumps, Mohammad Rizwan, who had earlier scored an unbeaten 171 in Pakistan’s first innings, took four catches but also dropped Mehidy when he was on 52.

Scores in Brief

(DAY 4 OF 5)PAKISTAN (1ST INNINGS) 448-6d (Mohammad Rizwan 171*, Saud Shakeel 141, Saim Ayub 56; Hasan Mahmud 2-70, Shoriful Islam 2-77) and (2ND INNINGS) 23-1 vs BANGLADESH (1ST INNINGS) 565 all-out, 167.3 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim 191, Shadman Islam 93, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 77; Naseem Shah 3-93, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-88, Mohammad Ali 2-88, Khurram Shahzad 2-90).