Bangladesh's Habibul Bashar scored successive half centuries Friday and made a gallant attempt to set up a challenging target for Pakistan in the first cricket Test in Karachi's National Stadium.
Bashar, who scored 71 in the first innings total of 288, showed a lot of maturity in the second outing too. His unbeatean 82 guided Bangladesh to 163 for three at close. It gave the visitors an overall lead of 105 runs after it conceded just 58 runs and bowled the home team out for 346.
Pakistan rued a missed chance when Bashar should have been caught off the first ball. He played a lose drive to speedster Shoaib Akhtar, but Yasir Hameed missed the catch in the slips.
PHOTO: AFP
Bangladesh lost all its top three batsmen to leg before decisions.
Javed Omar offered no stroke to Akhtar's inswinger after scoring 13. Hannan Sarkar, who put on 54 runs with Bashar, lost his wicket when he needlessly tried to sweep part-time spinner Mohammad Hafeez just before tea. Sanwar Hossain left the team reeling at 83 for three -- a lead of mere 25 -- when Shabbir Ahmad had him trapped in front of the wicket.
However, Bashar found a useful ally in debutante Razin Saleh and both batsmen ensured Bangladesh did not lose more wickets in the last session. They have so far put on 80 runs for the unfinished fourth wicket partnership. Bashar's innings included seven fours and he looked set for his second century in 22 Test matches when play resumes on Saturday.
Akhtar bowled in short spells but failed to shatter the confidence of either Bashar or Razin to end the day with one for 38. Hafeez was the most economical bowler for Pakistan as he gave away just nine runs off his 12 overs for the wicket of Sarkar.
Earlier, Pakistan failed to take a substantial lead when it resumed at the overnight of 301 for five. It lost the last five wickets with the addition of just 45 runs to some tight Bangladesh bowling.
Only captain Rashid Latif hung in for a defiant unbeatean 54 as Bangladesh seamers Tapash Baisya and Mashrafe bin Murtaza bowled to a much disciplined line and length. Misbahul Haq added just a run to his overnight 12 before he was adjudged leg before to Mashrafe in the eighth over of the day.
Left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique then took two quick wickets. He cleaned bowled Akhtar and had Ahmad caught bat and pad by Razin. Latif, who was watching his tailenders' departure from the other end, hit first boundary of the day in more than an hour's play off leg-spinner Alok Kapali.
Bangladesh skipper Khaled Mahmud, who had just one wicket in previous seven test matches with an astonishing average of 406 runs, at last added another scalp when Danish Kaneria got a leading edge and gave Mahmud a dolly catch. Although Rafique missed a hard caught and bowled chance off Latif, the Pakistan captain brought up his half century off the next delivery with a boundary.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and