Pakistan captain Babar Azam heaped praise on openers Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafique for their astonishing performance in the first Test against Bangladesh, saying the duo will make a good opening pair in the future.
Abid and Shafique played stunning knocks of 133 and 52 respectively and put on 146 for the opening stand to help Pakistan post 286 in the first innings against Bangladesh.
The opening duo once again starred with the bat in the second innings as well, as Abid and Shafique went on to play knocks of 91 and 73 respectively in the second innings.
The pair added 151 runs for the first wicket to help Pakistan comfortably chase down the 202-run target to beat Bangladesh by eight wickets in the first Test of the ongoing two-match Test series on Tuesday (November 29) in Chattogram.
Abid was adjudged player of the match for his stunning batting performance, while Hassan Ali (7/103), Shaheen Afridi (7/102), and Sajid Khan (3/33) starred with the ball for Pakistan against Bangladesh.
With the 8-wicket win in the first Test, Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in the two-match Test series with the second and final Test to be played in Dhaka from December 4-8.
Babar said after the match, “The way they played after the first session, but we came back well the next day and that's what Test cricket is all about. You have time to make a comeback. When there is a partnership we have to be more consistent with our bowling. But we had very little time to prepare for this Test as there were only two days after the T20s, but we are professionals and have to be prepared.”
He signed off by saying, “I am happy the way he (Abid Ali) built his innings and he will only keep improving, also the way Abdullah played, they will make a good opening pair.”
(With ANI Inputs)
