One of the most constant things in the world is the poor fielding of the Pakistan side across formats. From the past players to the recent ones, they come up with amazing efforts to drop one of the simplest of catches in the game, to make it hard for the bowlers and teams on the ultimate performance of the side.
After a pretty ordinary performance in the first of the two Tests against Bangladesh at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Islamabad, it was important for Pakistan to show their skills in all three departments of the game.
The beginning didn’t go as expected for the home side, as they lost opener Abdullah Shafique on the last ball of the first over on a duck. The captain Shan Masood, who lost the toss and was forced to bat first on a green-looking surface, shared a vital 107-run stand for the second wicket with Saim Ayub as both of them made respective fifties in the game.
Saud Shakeel drops an easy catch to keep Pakistan under pressure- watch video
Then, it felt like the batters had settled down their nerves, and Pakistan would go on to put up a big score in the first innings. That wasn’t the case, as they lost both of their set batters in a span of just six overs. The left-hander batter, Saud Shakeel, who made a huge century in the last game, failed along with Mohammad Rizwan.
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The former Pakistan captain, Babar Azam, looked good for some of his sound shots at the start of the innings, but he couldn’t convert them into a big score. Agha Salman, the middle-order batter for the Green Brigade, notched up a magnificent half-century in the game before they were folded up for 274 in the first innings.
At that point in time, it was important for them to take a couple of early wickets, especially in a short burst of a couple of overs before the end of the first day’s play.
In this game, the Pakistan team management decided to drop their two veteran pacers- left-arm Shaheen Shah Afridi and right-arm pacer Naseem Shah, both of whom bowled so many overs in the game. In their absence, the left-arm pacer, Mir Hamza, started with the new ball and almost grabbed a wicket on the very first ball of the innings.
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It was a beautiful outswinger from Hamza, as the left-arm opener of the visitors, Shadman Islam, threw his hand hands at it without any foot movement. A thick outside edge off his bat flew into the slip corridor, where the Pakistan captain Shan Masood kept five fielders to be on attacking mode.
However, Saud Shakeel, who was standing at the gully, failed to grab the ball, as it bounced off his palm towards Saim Ayub, who was at fourth slip, and he couldn’t hold to it. Shakeel gave a reaction that the sun might have come into their eyes, making it hard for him to judge the speed and direction of the delivery.
Bangladesh negotiated the deal pretty well, with ten runs on the board in two overs without any damage. They have a very good chance of putting a huge score in the first innings and putting the Pakistan side under pressure, who have lost five of their last nine affairs at home, besides four drawn results.