Mohammad Rizwan suffers injury after brilliant 171-run knock, Sarfaraz Ahmed steps in as keeper

Mohammad Rizwan was forced to go out of the field at the fag end of the second day's play in Rawalpindi in the first Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh. The Tigers ended the day on 27 for no loss after Pakistan posted 448/6 d in their first innings.

Mohammad Rizwan scored an unbeaten 171 and along with Saud Shakeel (141) added 240 runs for the fifth wicket. Pakistan at one point were in a spot of bother at 113/4 with Babar Azam being dismissed for a duck and skipper Shan Masood scoring just six.

The partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and Shakeel brought Pakistan back into the game. The lower order then added some crucial runs as Pakistan declared two short of 450.

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Bangladesh started their innings cautiously. They batted for 12 overs and scored 27 runs as the openers negotiated the Pakistan new-ball bowlers. In between, Mohammad Rizwan who picked up an injury while batting was replaced behind the stumps by former Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed.

Also Read: England’s Test tour of Pakistan in danger of TV blackout as no UK broadcaster bids for rights

Sarfaraz Ahmed Replaced Mohammad Rizwan Behind The Stumps

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The incident happened after 7.2 overs when Mohammad Rizwan seemed to struggle with some injury concerns. He was helped with some stretching by Babar Azam. The physio then walked out to the ground and aided Mohammad Rizwan with some treatment. After a consultation between Azhar Mahmood and Jason Gillespie, Sarfaraz Ahmed was seen walking out to the park.

He kept less than five overs with the umpires calling it stumps on day two after just 12 overs. Pakistan firmly dominated proceedings on day two and will be happier of the two teams at the stumps. The Bangladesh bowlers after their early strikes looked very ordinary during the partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and Shakeel.

Both Pakistan and Bangladesh need to do a lot to reach the final of this edition of the World Test Championship. The two teams are currently in the second half of the points table. Pakistan are sixth with just 22 points while Bangladesh are eighth with just 12 points. Their PCT is not good either.

Pakistan have tough matches to follow with a series against England first in October and then against England and West Indies in December-January. Bangladesh take on India and West Indies next after the current series against Pakistan.

The Bangladesh skipper sounded worried with his team's batting approach in the pre-match press conference. He said that his batters have lagged behind in the past but can make amends in this series. The wicketless start is possibly a good sign of things to come for the Tigers.

Speaking about Shanto, he scored 440 runs in Test cricket in 2023 including three hundreds, at an average of 55.00. But he could manage only 32 in four innings against Sri Lanka earlier this year.

Also Read: Saud Shakeel secures legendary status in Pakistan Cricket with historic Test milestone