09:35 IST:

Pitch Report – Athar Ali Khan is inspecting the conditions in Sylhet. He says the surface has been good throughout and should continue to be good in this final season. He said that the big question is whether Pakistan can create history. It is said that such a big target has never been chased on this ground and it is the biggest target ever set by Pakistan here. On Bangladesh’s bowling strategy, he points to the last two overs before the break as a masterclass in length control. He elaborated that out of the 12 balls bowled, nine or ten hit the true good-length mark, completely closing down the scoring options. He says that this is excellent Test match bowling and Bangladesh would like to repeat exactly the same discipline from here. He said that all eyes for Pakistan are on Babar Azam. He says that he has gone 31 innings without a Test century, which means there is a lot of pressure on him, yet his class is beyond question. Further adding that as his looks settle in, he has the full potential to master this surface and post a big one, just like Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das did in the first match. Adds that a chase of this magnitude requires someone to stand up and handle the innings, someone cut from the cloth of Younis Khan or Mohammad Yousuf. It ends by saying that whether Pakistan has that steel today or not remains to be seen.