Pakistan captain Babar Azam and Azhar Ali remained unbeaten on Day-2 of the 2nd Test as persistent rain and wet outfield could only allow 6.2 overs to be bowled.
As no cricket was possible due to the rain, Bangladeshi ace all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan caught everyone’s eye after the end of Day’s play as he took a trip down memory lane to relive his childhood days. He was seen sliding on a water-filled pitch cover.
Earlier, day-2 was scheduled to start 30 minutes early today to make up the overs lost on Day-1 with 98 overs to be bowled. However, continuous rain accompanied by a wet outfield did not allow play to start till 12:50 p.m.
As play started in Mirpur with overcast weather, Bangladesh seamers Ebadot Hossain and Khaled Ahmed started off the day to exploit the seaming conditions.
But the 6.2 overs that were shared between them did not seem to trouble the Pakistani duo as they scored 27 runs consisting of 4 boundaries scoring at a run rate of 4.35 in the session.
Both the batters scored with relative ease as the numbers suggest, aided by inconsistent bowling from the Bangladesh pacers. Azhar Ali got his fifty (52 off 136 balls) after the experienced duo also brought up their 100 runs partnership for the 4th wicket in the 59th over.
Play could not proceed any further as the rain at Mirpur intensified at around 1:21 p.m. Play was shortly called off at around 3:02 p.m after the players had tea with the weather showing no signs of improvement.
With rain spoiling most of the day’s play in the Test match, only 63.2 overs could be bowled in the first 2 days of the Test as Pakistan is still on the driving seat with 188/2, thanks to an unbeaten 118 runs partnership between Babar Azam (71 from 113 balls) and Azhar Ali.
Taijul Islam remains the only wicket-taker for Bangladesh in the innings who took both the wickets on Day-1.
Day-3 is also scheduled to have a half an hour early start tomorrow with 98 overs to be slotted in; however, the weather forecast does not seem too promising either on Day-3.
