CHITTAGONG :
Younis Khan cracked an unbeaten double-century and Asad Shafiq made his
maiden hundred as Pakistan closed in on victory in the first Test
against Bangladesh here on Sunday.Younis smashed a solid 200
not out and Shafiq an impressive 104 as Pakistan posted 594-5 declared
in their first innings in reply to Bangladesh's 135 in Chittagong.The
hosts faltered against spin before reaching 134-4 in their second
innings at stumps on the third day, with debutant Mohammed Nazimuddin
and Shakib Al Hasan each unbeaten on 41.Bangladesh still trail by 325 runs with six wickets in hand.Off-spinner
Mohammad Hafeez, who was pressed into the attack after only five overs,
struck with his fifth delivery after the tea break when he bowled
opener Tamim Iqbal for 15.Bangladesh lost three wickets in
the space of six runs after Nazimuddin and Shahriar Nafees added 50 for
the second wicket, with off-spinner Saeed Ajmal, left-arm spinner Abdur
Rehman and paceman Aizaz Cheema doing the damage.Nafees made
28 and Nasir Hossain three while Mohammad Ashraful failed to open his
account before Nazimuddin and Shakib added 54 for the unbroken
fifth-stand stand to steady the innings.Pakistan declared
their innings in the afternoon session immediately after Younis turned
left-arm spinner Shakib to square-leg for two runs to complete his
double-century, his third score of 200 or more in 72 Tests.Younis dominated the Bangladeshi attack with rich strokeplay, hitting three sixes and 18 fours in his 290-ball knock.Bangladesh
continued to struggle for success as they took more than a session to
get their lone wicket, but not before Younis and Shafiq had put on 259
for the fifth wicket.Left-arm spinner Elias Sunny broke the
stand when he dismissed Shafiq, who cracked two sixes and nine fours in
his 235-ball innings before being caught by Nafees at long-off while
going for a big shot.Pakistan added 179 runs after resuming at 415-4.Younis,
96 overnight, reached his 19th Test hundred in the opening over when he
flicked paceman Shahadat Hossain for a four. He was later caught off a
Rubel Hossain no-ball by Sunny at deep square-leg on 138.Sunny finished with 3-123, while off-spinner Mohammad Mahmudullah and Shahadat took one wicket each.
