The first match of the two-match Test series is being played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium between Pakistan and Bangladesh. Pakistan managed to make a comeback from a poor start, in which wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan and vice-captain Saud Shakeel played an important role. Pakistan maintained its dominance on the second day on Thursday as well. The host team scored 448/6 thanks to strong centuries from Rizwan and Shakeel and declared the first innings. Rizwan remained unbeaten after scoring 171 runs off 239 balls. He hit 11 fours and three sixes. Star batsman Shakeel scored 141 runs off 261 balls with 9 fours. Both shared a strong partnership of 240 runs for the fifth wicket.
Given the rhythm Rizwan was in, it seemed that he would easily complete his first double century in Tests. However, Pakistan captain Shan Masood surprised everyone by declaring the innings at the end of the day. Masood’s decision was discussed extensively on social media. Many users found a conspiracy angle to stop Rizwan from scoring a double century. People are saying that Rizwan needed just 29 runs to complete 200 and Masood took the decision in a hurry. When Shakeel was asked about this decision in the press conference after the day’s play was over, he made a big claim. The vice-captain said that Rizwan was told an hour before declaring the innings.
Rizwan played an unbeaten innings of 171 runs, becoming the first Pak batsman to do so after 15 years
Shakeel said, “Look, as far as Rizwan Bhai’s double century is concerned, I don’t think there was any haste in taking the decision to declare the innings. Rizwan Bhai was clearly told an hour in advance at what time we would declare the innings. So he had an idea of ​​when the innings would be declared. He was told that we would try to reach close to 450 before declaring the innings.” It is worth noting that Pakistan lost three wickets for just 16 runs on Wednesday. Abdullah Shafiq scored 2, Masood scored 6 while Babar Azam’s account did not open. In such a situation, Rizwan and Shakeel took charge well and foiled the plans of Bangladesh.