Bad light brought an early end to the play on Saturday as Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam hit a brisk fifty and he took his team to a comfortable total of 161 runs for the loss of two wickets on the first day of the second cricket Test against Bangladesh at Dhaka's Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium.

The match was interrupted twice – once before the tea break and after tea, it could not be possible to restart the match due to the poor visibility.

Full of masterstrokes, the Pakistani skipper hit an unbeaten 60 studded with seven fours and a six along with Azhar Ali who was not out at 36.

Earlier, Bangladesh's left-arm spinner Taijul Islam removed both openers after Pakistan made a steady start in the second Test. The visitors elected to bat and reached 78-2 at lunch on the first day.

Taijul ended a 59-run opening partnership when he bowled Abdullah Shafique for 25 runs through the gate before Abid Ali chopped one onto his stumps after knocking up 39 runs.

Abid Ali and Shafique, who put on 146 and 151 runs in two innings of the first Test in Chittagong, looked confident as they successfully negotiated the new ball under slightly overcast conditions.

Abid Ali, the man of the match in the first Test, dominated the bowlers, hitting six boundaries.

Shafique also showed aggression, hoisting Taijul for the only six of the morning before the spinners forced Pakistan to slow down.

Taijul could have dismissed Azhar if the third umpire had not given him the benefit of the doubt.

Bangladesh reviewed the not-out call from the on-field umpire and with the ultra-edge showing an inconclusive touch of the ball to bat, the decision could not be overturned.

Pakistan lead the two-Test series 1-0 after winning the first Test by eight wickets.

The visitors fielded an unchanged squad from the first Test while Bangladesh handed Mahmudul Hasan a Test debut and brought in Shakib Al Hasan and Khaled Ahmed in three changes to the team.

Saif Hassan, Yasir Ali and Abu Jayed were dropped from the opening Test.

Earlier, Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first in the second cricket Test of the two-match series against Bangladesh. Pakistani captain Babar Azam chose to bat first after winning the toss saying they have retained the team which had won the first Test in Chittagong. “There is no change in the Pakistani team for the second Test,” he added.

Babar Azam said the pitch looked good for batting that was why they had decided to bat first. "We will try to maintain our winning momentum," he added.

His Bangladeshi counterpart also maintained that they would have batted first had they won the toss.

The Bangladeshi skipper, however, said the hosts have made three changes to their side. Yasir Ali, Saif Hassan and Abu Jayed have made way for Shakib, debutant Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Khaled Ahmed.

“For me, as a captain, everything gets easier when Shakib is around,” Bangladesh skipper Mominul Haque said. “Everything is fine with him at this moment. You know he is a player with two in one. He (Shakib) is such a player who can give us the combination we are comfortable with. We now can return to our traditional combination of four bowlers and seven batsmen.”

Teams:
Bangladesh: 1 Shadman Islam, 2 Mahmudul Hasan Joy, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto, 4 Mominul Haque (capt), 5 Shakib Al Hasan, 6 Mushfiqur Rahim, 7 Liton Das (wk), 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Taijul Islam, 10 Khaled Ahmed, 11 Ebadot Hossain

Pakistan: 1 Abid Ali, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Babar Azam (capt), 5 Fawad Alam, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Faheem Ashraf, 8 Hasan Ali, 9 Sajid Khan, 10 Nauman Ali, 11 Shaheen Shah Afridi

Coming into this game, Pakistan leads the series 1-0 after having beaten Bangladesh by eight wickets in the opening Test at Chattogram.