RAWALPINDI: Bangladesh left-arm paceman Shoriful Islam took two wickets in four balls to leave Pakistan struggling at 81-3 on a rain-hit opening day of the first Test in Rawalpindi on Wednesday. The 23-year-old spearhead removed the home team’s skipper Shan Masood for six and then star batter Babar Azam for a two-ball duck before Pakistan launched their recovery on a greenish pitch.

Saim Ayub was unbeaten on 42 and Saud Shakeel on 28 at the break, having added a fighting 65 in their fourth-wicket stand. Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto took no time in sending Pakistan in to bat after winning the toss and caught Pakistan napping at 16-3.

It was Shoriful’s new-ball partner Hasan Mahmud who gave the visitors the first breakthrough when Abdullah Shafique was smartly caught at gully by Zakir Hasan for two in the fourth over. Shoriful then had Masood caught behind off a sharp delivery, with Bangladesh successfully reviewing a not out decision by South African umpire Adrian Holdstock.

Masood argued the decision by television umpire Martin Gough of England with the on-field officials as Bangladesh fielders celebrated the dismissal, refusing to accept he nicked the ball. Babar nicked a leg-side delivery in Shoriful’s next over and was caught by wicketkeeper Liton Das for his first home-ground duck in 14 Tests. No play was possible before lunch, with 230 minutes of action lost because some wet outfield patches left by overnight rain were deemed dangerous.

Pakistan entered the Test with four fast bowlers in an all-pace attack with no frontline spinner, while Bangladesh included three pacers and two spinners. The two-match series is part of the nine-team World Test championship, with Pakistan currently sixth in the standings and Bangladesh eighth.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) named ex-skipper Faruque Ahmed Wednesday as president after the resignation of Nazmul Hassan, a close ally of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina. Cricket and politics go hand-in-hand in Bangladesh, and the sport has been hit by the turmoil that has wracked the country.

Nazmul, who also served as sports minister during Hasina’s 15-year autocratic rule, wrote to the BCB to resign, board chief executive officer Nizam Uddin Chowdhury told AFP. “His wish was granted,” he said. More than 450 people were killed during a month of student-led protests against Hasina’s rule, before she quit as prime minister on August 5 and fled the country.

Chowdhury said Faruque was elected by the board’s directors and “took charge immediately”. Nazmul had been BCB president since 2012, serving multiple terms, with his last tenure scheduled to end in 2025. New president Faruque briefly captained Bangladesh in the 1994 ICC Trophy in Kenya and played seven one-day internationals. He retired from the national team after the World Cup in 1999. He also held the position of national chief selector between 2005 and 2014. — AFP