Openers Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafique each hit unbeaten fifties to put Pakistan in a commanding position in the first Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong yesterday.
Set a target of 202, the visitors reached 109-0 at stumps on the fourth day and need only 93 runs on the final day.
Ali was 56 not out at the end of play, adding to his first-innings score of 133, while debutant Shafique finished unbeaten on 53.
“In Test cricket, a fourth day is very crucial,” said Shafique.
“Our plan today was to restrict them for the lowest total possible so that we can easily chase it down. This is what we were trying and we were successful.”
Fast bowler Shaheen Afridi earlier claimed 5-32 to help Pakistan bowl out Bangladesh for 157 runs in their second innings despite wicketkeeper-batsman Liton Das making a fighting fifty.
Resuming on 39-4, Bangladesh looked down and out once they lost Mushfiqur Rahim in the first over of the day, before Liton, who struck a hundred in the first innings, hauled the hosts back to respectability with 59 off 89 balls.
Afridi trapped Liton leg-before and then had Abu Jayed out for a duck to complete his fourth five-wicket Test haul.
Off-spinner Sajid Khan, who finished with 3-33, wrapped things up by dispatching Taijul Islam.
The hosts had got off to a positive start with Mushfiqur hitting a boundary off the first ball of the morning, bowled by Hasan Ali.
But two balls later he left a delivery that darted back in and departed for 16 after Hasan uprooted his off-stump.
Liton joined overnight batsman Yasir Ali to prevent further collapse.



Scoreboard
Bangladesh Ist innings 330
Pakistan Ist innings 286
Bangladesh 2nd innings (overnight 39-4)
Shadman Islam lbw b Afirid 1
Saif Hasan c and b Afridi 18
Hossain c Shafique b Afridi 0
M Haque c Azhar b Hasan 0
Mushfiqur Rahim b Hasan 16
Yasir Ali retired hurt  36
Liton Das lbw Afridi     59
M Hasan lbw b Sajid 11
N Hasan c Faheem b Sajid 15
T Islam st Rizwan b Khan 0
A Jayed c Rizwan b Afridi 0
Ebadot Hossain not out 0
Extras (b1) 1
Total (all out; 56.2 overs) 157
Fall of Wickets: 1-14 (Shadman), 2-14 (Najmul), 3-15 (Mominul), 4-25 (Shadman), 5-43 (Mushfiqur), 6-115 (Mehidy), 7-153 (Nurul), 8-157 (Liton), 9-157 (Jayed), 10-157 (Taijul)
Bowling: Shaheen 15-8-32-5, Hasan 11-0-52-2, Faheem 8-3-16-0, Nauman 9-3-23-0, Sajid 13.2-1-33-3
Pakistan 2nd innings
Abid Ali not out 56
Abdullah Shafique not out 53
Extras: 0
Total: (no wickets, 33 overs) 109
Bowling: Taijul 16-3-37-0,
Ebadot 5-1-23-0, Mehidy 10-2-36-0, Jayed 2-0-13-0



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