Pakistan 21 for 0 (Awais 13*, Fazal 8*) trail Bangladesh 278 (Litton 126, Shanto 29, Shahzad 4-81, Abbas 3-45) by 257 runs
Litton was a man on an ambitious mission from the moment he walked out, and saw two more team-mates fall inside ten runs to leave him batting alongside the tail. He immediately began turning down singles, aware he would have to do much of the work himself. He knew what it would take, having previously wrested control of a game after six early wickets in Rawalpindi, where his hundred set up a Bangladesh win.
After gritting his way alongside Taijul, he slowly began to loosen Pakistan’s control over the innings. He began to trust his partners more as the sting went out of the bowling attack, and then, crucially, the intensity and concentration. A bouncer from Shahzad kissed his glove on the way to Mohammad Rizwan, and though there were muffled appeals from the Pakistanis, no one felt confident enough to review after Pakistan burned two. He was on 52 then and went on to add another 74.
And those runs at the backend came quickly. With Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed and particularly Shoriful Islam, with whom he put on 64 for the ninth wicket, offering solidity at the other end, Litton freed his arms and began to show his dazzling strokely. A jabbed six in front of midwicket was the shot of the day, and as Pakistan’s accuracy dipped, runs flowed easily. A creamy drive through the covers brought up his third hundred against Pakistan, and as the day drew to a close, the visitors looked out of ideas beyond awaiting the new ball.
Litton finally holed out off a short delivery on 126, which left Pakistan with a tricky half hour to survive. It was Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal, each one Test old, who were given that responsibility, one they carried out with impressive composure.
It had all begun so differently for Pakistan, who got off to a dream start after they won the toss and Shan Masood put Bangladesh in again. Off just the second delivery, Abbas drew an edge from Mahmudul Hasan Joy that Salman Agha clung on to sharply in the slips. But debutant Tanzid Hasan and Mominul Haque responded sharply with a positive second-wicket stand that inched its way towards 50 inside the first ten overs. Tanzid, in particular, looked promising, especially driving through the off side, where all three of his boundaries came.
But Abbas found a way to remove him when, in a curious moment of misjudgement, he tried to jab the bowler through the on side, only to find a top edge that the bowler got underneath. Before long, Pakistan were rampant as Shahzad, in for Shaheen Shah Afridi, found a touch of movement to spell the end of Mominul with Bangladesh in trouble at 63 for 3.
Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim dug Bangladesh out of that hole, but Pakistan were irresistible in the hour after lunch thanks to their bowlers’ unerring discipline and relentless accuracy. The first seven overs produced only four runs as Abbas and Sajid Khan kept Shanto and Mushfiqur on a leash, and then all of a sudden, the dam burst. Abbas drew Shanto into a prod, with the ball shaping away as it took Shanto’s edge, with Mohammad Rizwan completing a splendid diving catch to his left.
When Abbas was given a break, Shahzad picked up the baton seamlessly. The fourth ball of his spell wobbled and held its line to beat Mushfiqur’s bat on the inside before pinging him on the pads in front of the stumps. Shahzad surprised Mehidy Hasan Miraz with a bouncer the following over, an unconvincing hook finding Hasan Ali at fine leg, who completed a sharp catch to leave the hosts reeling at 116 for 6.
At that point, Pakistan may have fancied taking near-unassailable control of this Test. However, time and again, Pakistan’s Test side has shown it is rarely ever as straightforward for them, and time and again, Bangladesh, and Litton Das, have found ways to exploit that.
Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo’s Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000
