A very commonplace performance from Bangladesh

Before leaving Dhaka the members of the national squad left a note of dissatisfaction that they were deprived of playing any practice match in home ground. The rain hardly showed any signs of letting up, therefore, the net sessions and practice matches were washed away with it.

Moreover, after the tour in Zimbabwe the side was virtually out of competitive cricket. For almost three months they worked on fielding and fitness; giving scarce notice on batting or bowling. The inaugural Test against Pakistan is starting from 29th August and before that Bangladesh team got a single opportunity to hone their knack in another overseas pitch - and the result was not absolutely dismaying.

The match against PCB-11 ended in a draw though Bangladesh had to struggle a lot for it. The opening day was utterly nightmarish for the tourists as they were stumbled to 161 in 65 overs. Aminul Islam, the only Test centurion for Bangladesh managed the highest 36 playing 118 balls in his 141-minute stay in the wicket. The other notable scorers were Javed Omar (27), Akram Khan (29) and the skipper Naimur Rahman (23). The tall and lanky fast bowler Shabbir Ahmed removed 3 Bangladeshi batsmen for 30 and Yaseer Arafat captured 3 for 17.

Taufiq Umar propelled the PCB-11 innings by his spectacular 113. The top-order played some good and assisting knocks that helped the team to reach 268 in 95 overs to take a 109-run lead against the minnows of Test cricket. The veteran left-handed off-spinner Enamul Haque secured 4 wickets giving away 44 runs in his 16 overs. Skipper Naimur made a mark with the ball as well when he took 2 for 34.

Bangladesh lost Javed Omar's wicket at the dying stages of the second day. The hero in the Zimbabwe tour made 13 before Shoeib Malik outplayed him. The tourists were 30 for 1 at the stumps.

To save the match Bangladesh needed to hang on to the wicket, which they did quite smartly. The third and final day was reserved for Mehrab Hossain and Akram Khan; both played very sensibly as long as they stayed in the crease. Mehrab's 225-minute stay brought him vital 72 runs and he hammered six times to clear the rope on his way. Akram Khan, the burly right-hander notched up 54, Habibul Bashar got 33 and wicket keeper Khaled Masud put up a patient 27. Bangladesh finished the day with 239 for 9 in 102 overs and shunned the humiliation.

The practice match singled out an important factor that Bangladesh team have to bat well in their first innings in Multan when they will take on a very strong Pakistani side. The pace attack of the hosts is really formidable and the batsmen of the tourists are not consistent. The one, who gets some good runs in the first innings, flopped in the second. The spinners were productive where the pacers were opposite.