Pakistan still hopeful of miracle chase: Shafiq

Pakistan batting coach Asad Shafiq remains hopeful his side can pull off a remarkable chase in the Sylhet Test despite needing 121 more runs with only three wickets remaining.

Pakistan closed day four on 316 for seven while chasing 437, with Mohammad Rizwan unbeaten on 75 and Sajid Khan giving him support at the other end.

“If you see today’s batting performance of our batting unit, we are really hopeful,” Shafiq said after stumps. “There are 120-odd runs left and the way Rizwan is batting, and the way Sajid played in the first innings, we are really hopeful.”

Pakistan showed resilience on day four through fighting knocks from captain Shan Masood, Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha after Bangladesh threatened to run through the batting line-up early in the day.

Shafiq, however, admitted Pakistan’s inability to convert starts into big innings continues to hurt the team throughout the series.

“In Test matches we expect from our batting unit that they will score hundreds and double hundreds. But unfortunately it is not being converted from fifty to a hundred,” he noted. “I am sure everyone is thinking and working on it. Rizwan is currently on 75 and God willing, if he converts this into a hundred, it will be good for the team.”

Pakistan will need one of the greatest fourth-innings efforts in their Test history to deny Bangladesh a famous whitewash in Sylhet.