Afghanistan’s lower order held firm through the closing overs of the Abu Dhabi Test on Tuesday to salvage a draw, while Bangladesh rued dropped catches and missed run-outs after Sediqullah Atal’s maiden Test hundred had already carried the visitors deep into the final session.
Chasing 479, they finished the day on 346/8 after batting 142 overs which was the fourth-most a team has batted in a fourth innings to save a Test.
Qais Ahmad celebrated the draw in style, hitting Taijul Islam for a six over the bowler’s head and another over deep midwicket in the final over. He prostrated himself in thanks after the last ball, finishing on 49 from 80 balls.
Drama came with five minutes left when Zia-ur-Rehman pulled out of his stance over a sight-screen problem, leaving Mushfiqur Rahim furious.
Qais had earlier gone down clutching his left hamstring and received treatment on the field before resuming, while the minutes ticked away.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who finished with three wickets, finally removed Yamin Ahmadzai for 19 off 85 balls, leaving Bangladesh needing two wickets with minutes left.
Zia-ur-Rehman then absorbed 12 balls without scoring while the clock ran down.
Bangladesh’s late frustrations had begun earlier. Two simple run-out chances went begging off successive balls, then Hasan Mahmud put down a straightforward catch from Qais at deep midwicket with Bangladesh still needing three wickets, a miss that would prove costly.
Bangladesh had appeared to be closing in when Atal fell for 111 off 332 balls, caught at short leg off Taijul Islam.
Before that, Afghanistan made a cautious start to the final session, adding just eight runs in the first eight overs to reach 277/6, with Atal still there and Yamin Ahmadzai on five.
Hashmatullah Shahidi gifted Bangladesh a wicket just before tea.
Having hit Taijul Islam for a huge six, he danced down to Mehidy Hasan Miraz, mistimed the shot and found Hasan Mahmud at mid-on for 36 off 69 balls, with Afghanistan on 264/6.
Mehidy had earlier ended Ismat Alam’s long vigil. He made four from 60 balls after needing 45 to get off the mark, and an edge ended a 40-run stand with Atal. Shahidi then returned to the crease after retiring hurt in the morning.
Atal reached his hundred off 277 balls with a boundary off Hasan Mahmud in the 97th over. It was his first in Tests and first-class cricket and the first by an Afghan batter in a Test fourth innings, studded with eight fours and three sixes.
Litton Das also let slip a stumping chance. Atal, on 70, advanced to Taijul Islam, the ball bounced and turned in, and the wicketkeeper could not gather it cleanly.
Commentators noted it was his first mistake of the match, which threatened to prove costly as Afghanistan settled in.
Litton’s diving catch off an Ebadot Hossain bouncer had dismissed Ikram Alikhil for 33 shortly before lunch, ending a 66-run stand and giving him nine dismissals in the match. He became the first wicketkeeper in Test history to combine two fifties and nine dismissals.
Afghanistan resumed on 132/3 needing 347, with Atal on 35 and Hashmatullah Shahidi on 19. Shahidi, who had struggled with a leg problem the previous day, retired hurt on 20 after a fielder’s throw struck his pad as he ran a single.
Hasan Mahmud’s hat-trick and 5/55 had earlier given Bangladesh a 106-run lead, after their 346 and Afghanistan’s 240.
He became the first Bangladeshi pacer to take a Test hat-trick on day three, removing Ismat Alam, Qais Ahmad and Zia-ur-Rehman with successive deliveries.
Bangladesh declared their second innings on October 12 at 372/7, built on Litton Das’s 102, Najmul Hossain Shanto’s 82, Mushfiqur Rahim’s 81 and Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s unbeaten 52, setting a target of 479.
Ebadot Hossain and Mehidy Hasan Miraz took three wickets each in the second innings, with Hasan Mahmud and Taijul Islam one apiece. Bangladesh controlled most of the Test, yet could not handle the pressure in the final hour.