From 26/6 to 262: Bangladesh's incredible fightback against Pakistan

The important day three of the ongoing Rawalpindi Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh experienced extraordinary cricket. After the first hour of horror for Bangladesh due to the Pakistani pacers’ dominance, the visitors made a strong comeback to celebrate the day. 

Despite a good start from most of the top-order batters, Pakistan scored 274 all out in the first innings. At the stumps on day 2, Bangladesh just started the innings on 10/0. It is the must-win game for the hosts Pakistan to only level the series by 1-1, as the visitors are leading the series by winning the series opener by 10 wickets.

Bangladesh were in deep trouble at 26/6

In the first ten overs of the day, Pakistan pacers Khurram Shahzad and Mir Hamza dominated the Bangladesh batters. Starting the day on 10/0, Bangladesh quickly found themselves at 26/6. 

While the opener Shadman Islam scored 10 runs, his opening partner Zakir Hasan was dismissed for one run. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto (4), Mominul Haque (1), Mushfiqur Rahim (3), and Shakib Al Hasan (2) failed to reach even half of the double-digit score. 

The 24-year-old right-arm pacer Khurram Shahzad, who is playing his third Test, claimed three wickets in five balls and picked up four wickets out of the first six Bangladesh wickets. The left-arm pacer Mir Hamza got two other wickets when Bangladesh were at the horror on 26/6. 

At lunch, Bangladesh still needed 50 runs to avoid the follow-on

Forget about the match result, Bangladesh were thinking of avoiding the follow-on when they were deeply hurt at 26/6. However, wicketkeeper-batter Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the no.7 and no.8 batters, slowly built up the innings and recovered the visitors’ confidence.

At lunch break, Bangladesh scored 75/6, where they were still 50 runs short of avoiding the follow-on (as the match became a four-day match due to the first-day washout, Bangladesh needed 125 runs to avoid the follow-on; minimum leads required 150 runs in a three-day or four-day match to force for the follow-on).

A strong start in the second session; Litton and Mehidy completed their 50s

In the first ten overs of the second session, Litton and Mehidy added 51 runs. While Bangladesh avoided the follow-on, both the batters were looking to complete their fifties. In the next few overs, both completed their respective half-centuries.

After Litton and Mehidy completed their 50s, the Bangladesh batters had another strong moment where they managed five runs per over. 

Khurram broke the frustrating 165-run seventh-wicket partnership

Just before the tea break, Mehidy lost his wicket after scoring 78 runs off 124 balls with the help of 12 fours and one six. Khurram Shahzad completed his first Test fifer after dismissing Mehidy in a caught and bowled method. However, before that wicket, Litton and Mehidy added the valuable 165 runs for the seventh wicket. 

Meanwhile, Litton was in the 80s, and he was not in the mood to leave the innings in that situation. However, the valuable session ended with another wicket as Taskin Ahmed (1) became the sixth victim of Khurram. Bangladesh were now batting on 193/8 as they were trailing by 81 runs. 

Centurion Litton dented Pakistan’s strong lead hope

Although Litton was having trouble with the cramp, he was fighting strongly. Meanwhile, the no.10 batter Hasan Mahmud provided Litton with strong support by securing the other end. Liton completed his fourth Test century in 171 balls. 

Litton and Mahmud's partnership was another strong reply to the home bowlers, as they set a 69-run partnership for the ninth wicket. 

Just two overs before the new-ball availability, Litton lost his wicket after scoring an unforgettable 138 off 228 balls with the help of 13 fours and four sixes. The off-spinner Salman Agha dismissed Litton, who also took the last wicket two balls later by dismissing Nahid Rana for a duck. 

Bangladesh ended their first innings on 262 runs, as Pakistan had only a 12-run lead before the beginning of their second innings. 

More joy for Bangladesh; picked up two wickets in less than four overs of the final moment of the day

While Bangladesh were already happy with the late batting effort, it only became a shiner with two Pakistan wickets. Hasan Mahmud picked up two wickets by dismissing the opener Abdullah Shafique (3) and the nightwatchman Khurram Shahzad (0) as Pakistan ended the day on 9/2 in 3.4 overs with the lead of 21 runs. 

Here are now the key stats of Bangladesh's first innings in the ongoing Rawalpindi Test 

• Bangladesh broke the 136-year-old Test cricket record

Bangladesh broke the 136-year-old record for the highest percentage of scores added after the fall of the sixth wicket in a Test innings. Bangladesh added 90.08% runs after losing their first six wickets, which beat Australia’s previous record of adding 90% runs after losing the first six wickets during the 1888 Old Trafford Test against England (7/6 and 70 all out).

• Teams never scored more than Bangladesh after losing the first six wickets on 50 or lesser runs

Bangladesh’s 262 all-out has no match. Teams that lost the first six wickets for 50 or lesser runs never reached the 262 mark in the Test innings.

•  Litton Das became the first batter to hit three Test centuries after coming to bat at no.6 or lower when the team innings couldn't score 50 runs 

During the 2021 Chattogram Test against Pakistan, Litton scored 114 runs in the first innings after coming to bat at 49/4.

During the 2022 Mirpur Test against Sri Lanka, Litton came to bat at 24/5 and scored 141 runs.

• A Test series with more than one 150+ partnership for 7th or lower wicket for a team

Before Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz added 165 runs for the seventh wicket in the ongoing Test, Miraz and Mushfiqur Rahim had a 196-run partnership for the seventh wicket in Bangladesh’s first innings of the series opener. 

New Zealand was the first and only team to previously record it twice during the South Africa tour in 2005/06. 

• Mehidy Hasan Miraz broke Moin Khan’s record

Mehidy was the only fourth batter to score a fifty or more after coming to bat at no.8 or lower when the team scored less than 30 runs. 

The other three batters were England’s Charlie Absolom vs Australia in the 1879 Melbourne Test (52 runs after coming to bat at 26/7), Pakistan’s Moin Khan vs India at the 1999 Kolkata Test (70 runs after coming to bat at 26/6), and West Indies’ Joshua Da Silva vs Sri Lanka in the 2021 Galle Test (54 runs after coming to bat at 18/6).

So, Mehidy’s 78 runs broke the previous record of Moin Khan’s 70 runs in this category.