CHITTAGONG: Abdur Rehman grabbed two wickets in the morning session as Pakistan moved closer to victory in the opening Test against Bangladesh in Chittagong on Monday.
The left-arm spinner removed well-set debutant Mohammed Nazimuddin (78) and former captain Shakib Al Hasan (51) before Bangladesh, trailing by 459 runs, reached 228-7 in their second innings at lunch on the penultimate day.
The hosts now trail by 231 runs with three wickets in hand.
Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal was the other wicket-taker in the morning when he bowled Mohammad Mahmudullah for no score as the hosts added 94 to their overnight total of 134-4.
Nazimuddin was involved in two stands, adding 78 for the fifth wicket with Shakib and 47 for the next with captain Mushfiqur Rahim (34 not out) before being caught by Ajmal at mid-off.
Opener Nazimuddin, 41 overnight, hit two sixes and nine fours in his 186-ball knock.
Nazimuddin, the second-highest scorer in the first innings with 31, defied the Pakistani attack for more than an hour and completed his half-century when he turned Rehman to deep mid-wicket for three runs.
He played a couple of big shots after reaching his fifty, lofting Rehman over extra cover and then Ajmal over mid-wicket for sixes.
Bangladesh had added only 24 runs to their overnight total when Shakib was trapped leg-before by Rehman after hitting eight fours in his ninth Test half-century.
Pakistan on Sunday posted a mammoth 594-5 declared in their first innings in reply to Bangladesh’s 135, with Younis Khan (200 not out), Mohammad Hafeez (143) and Asad Shafiq (104) being the main scorers.
The second and final Test starts in Dhaka on Saturday.