Pakistan speed towards series win

Bangladesh slid quickly towards defeat on the fourth morning, as Pakistan removed four indisciplined top-order batsmen, leaving the visitors needing just four more scalps to win the series 1-0. Mominul Haque struck a bright fifty, deftly mixing attack and defence as Pakistan rifled through several plans for him. But with the surface taking more turn by the session, and both Yasir Shah and Mohammad Hafeez in good rhythm, the visitors will have hopes of winning on Saturday, before the rains roll in. Bangladesh went to lunch on 134 for 5, 416 runs behind.

Tamim Iqbal and Mominul had begun securely, settling into a quick rhythm of runs into the outfield off Yasir, and they negotiated Junaid Khan, who could not find movement off the seam with the slightly older ball. Tamim showed more caution than he had on the previous evening, but was out attempting an expansive stroke in Imran Khan's first over of the day. Spotting a wide, full-length delivery, Tamim aimed a drive through the covers but did not account for Imran's extra bounce and edged behind for 42.

Mahmudullah had a tetchy 12-ball stay, flirting dangerously with several Wahab Riaz bouncers before Imran found his outside edge as well. Mahmudullah poked at a back-of-a-length delivery in the channel, and sent the ball to Younis Khan at second slip.

Shakib Al Hasan edged his second ball through the gully, but continued to play his strokes, slog-sweeping Yasir for four as Mominul progressed briskly alongside him. Ambition was Shakib's downfall too. He ran at Hafeez's third delivery of the day and attempted to put it into the sightscreen, but the mishit sent the ball to a backpedaling mid-off instead. Mushfiqur Rahim was more careful, playing out eight scoreless deliveries, before he misjudged a Yasir legbreak 15 minutes from lunch and played on to his stumps.

Wahab peppered Mominul with short deliveries all through his early spell, but the batsman continued to pull and hook with control, and ducked the balls too high to pull down. Yasir sent down several googlies, but Mominul did not seem to have trouble reading him. Mominul completed his half-century with a single to backward point, becoming the fifth man after Viv Richards, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and AB de Villiers to register a fifty.