The weather promises to be better on the fourth and fifth days, with no rain forecast
\n Islamabad
\nThe third day of the Dhaka Test lived up to its very rainy forecast with a full day washout. The covers never came off the Shere Bangla National Stadium, and Bangladesh and Pakistan players didn\u2019t come to the ground, as the country\u2019s capital bore the brunt of a depression at the Bay of Bengal.
\nPlay was called off at 2pm local time, a foregone conclusion, though it could have happened much earlier. Match officials usually cling on to the hope of rain relenting. Even in that case, it takes an hour to clear the water off the ground and the covers. None of that was required on Monday.
\nThe last time a full day\u2019s play was lost in a Test in Bangladesh was in July-August 2015, when South Africa toured the country.
\nOnly 30 minutes of play was possible on the second day, when Pakistan resumed their first innings for just 6.2 overs. It was enough time for Azhar Ali to move from his overnight 39 to his 34th Test half-century and then to 52 not-out. Babar Azam struck a few boundaries to move to an unbeaten 71.
\nBabar started the day with an easy boundary off Khaled Ahmed, before Azhar brought up the 100-run stand. He then struck two fours off Ebadot Hossain to reach his fifty, off 126 balls. The pair have so far added 118 runs for the unbroken third-wicket stand.
\nEarlier on the first day, visitors made an unsurprisingly strong start, with Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafique adding 59 for the opening stand. It was Pakistan\u2019s fourth successive 50-plus stand for the first wicket, equalling the same feat from 2002. Taijul Islam removed both Abid and Shafique, but Azhar and Babar remained solid.
\nThe weather, however, promises to be better on the fourth and fifth days. There is no more rain in forecast, but it might take a while for the ground staff to rid of the excess water even when the sun comes out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The weather promises to be better on the fourth and fifth days, with no rain forecast Islamabad The third day of the Dhaka Test lived up to its very rainy forecast with a full day washout. The covers never came off the Shere Bangla National Stadium, and Bangladesh and Pakistan players didn\u2019t come to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":231476,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1395,196,1340,744],"class_list":{"0":"post-231466","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ball-bowled","9":"tag-cricket","10":"tag-rain","11":"tag-test"},"yoast_head":"\n