Pakistan 448 for 6 dec and 23 for 1 (Shafique 12*, Masood 9*, Shoriful 1-13) trail Bangladesh 565 (Mushfiqur 191, Mehidy 77, Naseem 3-93) by 94 runs

Mushfiqur’s two century partnerships poured water on any hopes the hosts had of taking a first-innings lead at the start of the day. Riding on his knock, Bangladesh first took a sizeable lead of 117 runs by putting up 565, and then adding to Pakistan’s jitters by dismissing Saim Ayub late in the day, with the hosts still trailing by 94 runs with three sessions left in the game.

Bangladesh were 316 for 5 and trailing by 132 at the start of the day, which will make Pakistan rue the chances they put down to allow a wicketless second session. Seeing that there was nothing in the pitch for the bowlers, and that Pakistan were without any frontline spinner, the visitors changed gears after a slow first hour.

The only time Mushfiqur came close to getting dismissed in the first session was when Mohammad Ali trapped him in front, on 59, but a review overturned the on-field decision. Ali jagged one sharply into Mushfiqur with the help of movement off the pitch to hit him in front of leg stump. Mushfiqur, however, reviewed with success, with ball-tracking showing the ball missing leg stump. Bangladesh had started the day with all three reviews intact while Pakistan had none left in the bank.

Once Litton edged one behind off Naseem Shah’s short delivery outside off which he failed to get on top of, Mushfiqur hit the pedal – especially against the spinners. Soon after Mehidy, whose technique wasn’t as compact as Mushfiqur’s in the first session, collected fours in consecutive overs off Khurram Shahzad, Mushfiqur raced from 73 to 100 in just 20 balls. He punished Shahzad for two more fours in an over – a deft steer through gully, and a punch through the covers – before also driving Shaheen Shah Afridi straight for four in the next over, to reach 88.

With Bangladesh chipping away at the deficit and Pakistan desperate for wickets, Masood brought on spin from both ends with 12 minutes left for lunch, and Mushfiqur cashed in. He smote Ayub for back-to-back fours, first against the turn over midwicket and then to the long-on boundary to reach 96, and in the next over nudged one to the leg side for two to spark off animated celebrations for his hundred.

In the second session, the temperature had crossed 35 degrees Celsius, Pakistan had bowled over 100 overs already, and it was going to take something extraordinary to take the remaining four wickets quickly. Mehidy looked a lot more assured after lunch, while Mushfiqur continued to play the ball late and right under his eyes to collect runs. Ali soon resorted to a short-ball plan for Mehidy by placing six fielders on the leg side, but his wayward lines failed to create opportunities, and Pakistan moved away from that tactic a bit too soon.

The real chance of dismissing Mushfiqur came after he reached 150, when he tickled the ball down leg where Babar Azam put down a catch at leg slip to his left. Mehidy, meanwhile, moved along to his half-century, and in the last over before tea, Mushfiqur smacked Salman for four over extra cover and then almost for a six to the long-on boundary to further stamp Bangladesh’s authority on the day.

Once Mushfiqur fell in the last session by edging Ali behind just before the third new ball was taken, Shoriful gave his side the kind of attacking and late lift Afridi had given Pakistan, with 22 runs off 14 balls, while Afridi took two of the last three wickets with the new ball to help Pakistan take 4 for 37 and wrap Bangladesh’s lower order up.

Among the Pakistan bowlers, Salman toiled the most by bowling a spell of 24 overs, split by the tea break, which saw 16 overs on the trot in the second session.