Bangladesh commanded proceedings on the first day, but Pakistan changed that around dramatically on the second, led by the youngest member of the team. Azan Awais,  making his debut, steered Pakistan into a position of relative comfort in a century partnership alongside Imam-ul-Haq  and then another solid stand with fellow debutant Abdullah Fazal.

By the end of the day, Awais had taken his side to 179 for the loss of just Imam’s wicket. Awais had contributed an unbeaten 85, nearing a debut hundred on the third morning. As a result, Pakistan were only another 234 runs behind with nine wickets standing after Bangladesh posted 413.

The confidence and poise he demonstrated across the last session was not immediately obvious when thrown in for an awkward ten overs before tea. The first ball Nahid Rana bowled to him was a wicked short delivery that reared up and hit him square on the badge of the helmet. With Awais visibly dazed, the physio was called and a concussion test began, one he looked in real danger of failing. Batting on, Awais briefly called for the physio again shortly after, but was allowed to stay on.

And once he did, there was no looking back. While Imam remained fidgety, Awais began to demonstrate why he has been the most prolific domestic run-scorer in Pakistan across the last two seasons. A delicious cover drive off Nahid showed his refusal to back down under the stern test. Awais’ ability to force Bangladesh to spread the field kept the hosts unsettled as he found boundaries through the covers, either side of the wicket, and straight down the ground.

Kolkata Knight Riders picked up their fourth win on the trot, their spin bowlers (12-0-76-3) capturing Delhi Capitals in a vice-like grip and never letting go Finn Allen made sure that wouldn’t repeat in the second innings. He pulverised DC’s spinners (9-0-102-1) to score his first IPL century even though he only had 143 to chase.

Pathum Nissanka scored a good half-century. He made 50 of DC’s first 85 runs at a strike rate of 172. The other end could only contribute 33 at a strike rate of 103. It was symbolic of how hard it was for a new batter to settle in and how much pressure comes on the set batter on a pitch like this. Even though he was going at a good clip, and had hit the previous ball for four, he still left his crease looking for more and was stumped off Anukul Roy.  The left-arm spinner took another wicket, four balls later.

Pakistan won the toss, but Bangladesh went on to win all three sessions. A majestic hundred from Bangladesh captain Najimul Hossain Shanto put his side in firm control at the end of the first day in Mirpur, finishing with 301 for the loss of four wickets. As a measure of the degree of control they exercised, they scored 101, 100, and 100 in each session respectively, pacing the innings exactly as required across the day.

Alongside Monimul Haque , who missed out on his own century by nine runs, Shanto put on 170 for the third wicket that Pakistan’s bowlers appeared largely at a loss to disrupt for the first two sessions, guiding them away from a perilous first hour that saw them lose their openers cheaply. When Pakistan finally prised the two out, an unbeaten 48 from Mushfiqur Rahim held the innings together, ensuring his side did not lose the cluster of wickets, that, so often at the end of days, tend to shift momentum.

This was billed as a series that would not rely on spin bowling to the extent it has come to be expected in Bangladesh. A look at the surface convinced both sides, too, with each playing just the one specialist spinner and three seamers. It was evident both captains would rather have bowled first to have a first crack at a wicket that had seen a generous coating of grass left on it.

Shan Masood’s decision looked to have paid off early after Bangladesh stumbled to 31 for 2, with Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Abbas making decent use of the conditions. The first two balls of the Test went for two boundaries, but the visitors pulled things back over the next hour. Off the first ball of his fourth over, Shaheen probed the fourth-stump channel to draw a poke from Mahmudul Hasan Joy to draw first blood. Abbas was perhaps a touch unlucky not to find himself among the wickets earlier, but it set the stage for Hasan Ali to find a bit of nip and coax an edge from Shadman Islam that Salman Agha pouched in the slips.

The danger signs were flashing in neon for Bangladesh at that point, but Mominul and Shanto calmed proceedings. While the scoring rate was sluggish, they began to take the sting out of the attack. In the final 45 minutes before drinks, as conditions eased and the batters settled, the runs began to flow. Afridi, who bowled nine overs in the session, saw his potency fade away towards the back-end, with Bangladesh milking nine runs in each of the first two overs of his second spell. Shanto, in particular, would become much more expressive with his shot-making, opening up his body and driving expansively through the offside against pacers.

The afternoon saw the pair merely pick up where they left off in the morning, almost completely unencumbered by any Pakistan bowler, seam or spin. The early movement Pakistan’s quicker bowlers got off the surface had all but evaporated, and with no genuine speed in Pakistan’s pace battery, there was little for two set batters to fear.

After a pair of maidens to kick the session off, Bangladesh hurried the scoring rate along, a boundary from Shanto off Abbas getting the scoreboard running. Masood rotated his bowlers fervently, with all five featuring in the session at some point or other. But Bangladesh milked the spinners, with Shanto especially belligerent against Noman Ali, unafraid of using his feet and being in supreme control when going over cover or mid-off. It was in that cover region that he threaded the gap which fetched his milestone-reaching boundary, celebrating getting to his ninth hundred with a gallop into the air and a pump of his fists.

However, that delight would turn into anguish the very next delivery. Abbas, coming around the wicket with Rizwan standing up to pin the batter, found some tail back in that beat Shanto’s inside edge to hit him on the knee roll. The umpire initially ruled against Pakistan on height, but Hawk-Eye found it to be hitting top of middle.

Meanwhile, Mominul deployed the late cut to canny effectiveness against the quicker bowlers time and again, toying with the field Masood set, no matter how novel or unconventional. He was, for much of the session, content to take a backseat to his more free-scoring captain, comfortably absorbing any pressure Pakistan were trying to put the hosts under.

Therein, perhaps, was the story of the day, one senior batter accepting responsibility when another fell. Mominul assumed a more dominant role in the final session with Mushfiqur bedding in, keeping the run rate up while starving Pakistan of realistic wicket-taking opportunities. Soon enough, though, Mushfiqur began to find his touch. He targeted Noman, arguably Pakistan’s least effective bowler of the day, for consecutive boundaries that got his innings going.

Bangladesh’s hold continued to solidify over the innings as the partnership stretched to 75 and evening approached, but finally, Noman got something to take out of his torrid day. At the start of the 74th over, Pakistan reviewed a close lbw shout only to find out Noman had overstepped for the seventh time the day. But he kept one low that darted straight through to Mominul, who couldn’t get bat on it and found himself trapped in front of leg stump.

Once more, Pakistan sniffed, with Litton Das in and the new ball approaching. Some inconsistent bounce began to discomfort the batters. Hasan hit Mushfiqur with a nasty blow as the ball reared up into his pads, while Shaheen managed to get a couple to sniff past the batters. But even with a late new-ball burst, Pakistan were unable to find the swing or the menace to threaten any late damage. Mushfiqur and Das held firm, refusing to loosen Bangladesh’s grip on the game, and positioning the hosts perfectly to tighten it even further on day two.

Brief scores:
Bangladesh 301 for 4 in 85 overs (Najimul Hossain Shanto 101, Mominul  Haq 91, Mushfiqur Rahim 48*;  Mohammad Abbas 1-51) vs Pakistan

[Cricinfo]