Rain halts Bangladesh's bid for clean sweep after Pakistan's batters falter in 2nd test

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — Rain halted Bangladesh’s bid for a clean sweep against Pakistan after young pace bowlers Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana rattled the hosts for 172 on Day 4 in the second test on Monday.

Bangladesh had scampered to 42-0 in seven overs before bad light, followed by rain, allowed only one over of play in the final session on Day 4. The tourists will be needing another 143 runs for a rare test series win away from home.

Bangladesh has won just one bilateral test series outside home — beating the West Indies in 2009 — but won the first test by 10 wickets for its first ever test victory against Pakistan in 14 matches.

The 24-year-old Mahmud grabbed 5-43 for his maiden five-wicket haul in only his second test match while 21-year-old Rana chipped in with 4-44 as Pakistan was bowled out half an hour before tea for an overall lead of 184.

“I should give credit to all my team members who work hard every time,” Mahmud said. “We’re very happy to win the first game and now have a chance to get another one, so it's very joyful.”

Under overcast conditions, Bangladesh openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam scored at a rapid pace before rain arrived. Zakir was unbeaten on 31 off 23 balls that included two pulled sixes against fast bowler Khurram Shahzad and Shadman Islam was not out on 9.

A resilient century from Litton Das and equally splendid half century from Mehidy Hasan Miraz allowed Pakistan a slender first innings lead of 12 runs after the tourists had collapsed to 26-6 on Day 3.

“The odds are probably in favor of Bangladesh, we don't shy away from that,” Pakistan head coach Jason Gillespie said. “I’m hoping that we can create some theater, create some drama and put a smile on a few people’s faces here in Pakistan tomorrow.”

The Pakistani top order’s long struggle in red-ball cricket has seen it lose five of the last nine test matches at home with its last win coming against South Africa in December 2021. The other four test matches were drawn.

Babar Azam’s (11) poor run of form in test matches stretched to seven games when he fell to Rana for the second time in the series as the tall fast bowler rattled the top order by claiming three wickets in his first three overs.

Top-scorer Salman Ali Agha (47 not out) and Mohammad Rizwan (43) led the recovery with a half century partnership after Rana’s burst had reduced the home team to 81-6 in the first session, before Mahmud sliced through the lower order.

Mahmud was a on a hat trick when he had Rizwan caught behind after the break and followed it up with another brilliant ball that found the outside edge of Mohammad Ali’s bat. But Salman added a vital 36 runs in the company of tailenders before Mahmud completed a five-for by claiming the last wicket.

Earlier, Rana could have ended the first session with four wickets but Rizwan was dropped in the slips cordon. Rana came to the fore after Taskin provided the breakthrough when skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto dived low to his left and grabbed a two-handed catch to dismiss Saim Ayub for 20.

Skipper Shan Masood struck four boundaries in his 28 before Pakistan’s innings crashed against Rana’s pace. Masood and Saud Shakeel got slight edges and Pakistan’s premier batter Babar edged to Shadman at slip after struggling for 18 balls. Shadman dropped a regulation chance on the next ball to give Rizwan a big reprieve as Pakistan went to lunch at 117-6.

Babar has been going through a poor run of form and it’s now been eight test matches since he posted a half-century. His top score in that time was 41 against Australia at Melbourne last year.

Both teams are near the bottom of the World Test Championship, with Bangladesh occupying seventh spot and Pakistan just ahead of last-placed West Indies.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Ground staff cover the pitch after game stop due to bad light during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Shadman Islam bats during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Zakir Hasan plays a shot during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Ground staff pull the sheet to cover the ground after game stop due to bad light during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Salman Ali Agha, right, Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan run between the wickets during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Hasan Mahmud tosses the ball after taking his fifth wicket as he walks off the field on the end of Pakistan second innings during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Hasan Mahmud performs Sajdah, a prayer bow in gratitude to God, after taking his fifth wicket, during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Salman Ali Agha plays a shot during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Nahid Rana celebrates after taking the wicket of Pakistan's Saud Shakeel during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Shan Masood, second right, reacts as Bangladesh's Nahid Rana, right, celebrates after his dismissal during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Nahid Rana, second left, celebrates with teammate after taking the wicket of Pakistan's Babar Azam, right, during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Hasan Mahmud, second left, celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Pakistan's Mohammad Ali during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Hasan Mahmud, second right, and teammates appeal for dismissal of Pakistan's Mir Hamza during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan, right, and Pakistan's Salman Ali Agha, center, walk during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan plays a shot during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Nahid Rana, left, celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Pakistan's Saud Shakeel during the fourth day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Sphere, Las Vegas' transformational new masterpiece, stole the show Saturday night at UFC 306, but Merab Dvalishvili put on a performance not to be forgotten in capturing the bantamweight championship with a unanimous decision over Sean O'Malley.

The judges scored it 49-46, 48-47 and 48-47 in favor of Dvalishvili (18-4), a 33-year-old from the country of Georgia. He used a ground-and-pound attack to control most of the action against O'Malley (18-2).

O'Malley, 29, who lives in Phoenix, was a slight -125 favorite at BetMGM Sportsbook.

Valentina Shevchenko reclaimed the women's flyweight championship with all three judges awarding her a 50-45 victory over Alexa Grasso in the co-main event.

This was the third consecutive meeting between the two after Grasso took Shevchenko's belt in the first match. The second was a draw.

The third one wasn't closer, with the 36-year-old Shevchenko (24-4-1) using a ground-and-pound strategy to win all three rounds over 31-year-old Grasso (16-4-1) on the judges' cards.

“It's so huge," said Shevchenko, who is from Kyrgyzstan. "It like a dream come true fighting in the Sphere.”

This show at the Sphere was unlike any show in the UFC's history, taking full advantage of the 160,000-square-foot high-definition LED screen to create an outer-space type feel as the pay-per-view portion of the card was about to begin.

UFC President Dana White called this card his “love letter to Mexico,” and mini stories of the neighboring country's history and culture as part of a celebration of the country’s Independence Day weekend were told on the screen throughout the evening. One created the illusion the arena was moving as the video played out.

Seven Mexican fighters, including Grasso, populated the card, and chants from the crowd of “Mexico” broke out several times.

Aztec pyramids seeming to hover over one contest in the octagon changed from night to morning. Another fight took place with a Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday scene that included dressed up male and female skeletons lighting up the screen. Other matches had similar scenes dominating the background.

The screen was used throughout to introduce a tell-of-the-tape of each fighter, and highlights were shown on the building's exterior.

White has said this is a one-and-done given the overwhelming undertaking to put together the show as well as the roughly $20 million cost. To help pay for it, White secured a title sponsor for the first time for one of his PPV cards, making the official name Riyadh Season Noche UFC.

But White has waffled as the event approached, and it's possible the UFC will have future cards at the Sphere, those the organization is contractually obligated to MGM Resorts, which includes T-Mobile Arena. An exception was made for this night and perhaps there will be more.

T-Mobile had its own tribute to Mexican Independence Day three miles away with Canelo Alvarez winning by unanimous decision as the headline fighter.

UFC's in-house production team crew worked with Antigravity Academy production led by founder and Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Carlos López Estrada to put together this event.

Heavyweight champion Jon Jones, considered by many to be the greatest fighter in UFC history, will face Stipe Miocic in UFC 309 on Nov. 16 at New York's Madison Square Garden. Jones has not fought since moving up from light heavyweight to claim the heavyweight crown with a first-round submission of Ciryl Gane on March 4, 2023.

Jones, who was in the crowd wearing a black cowboy hat, and Miocic were scheduled to fight last year, but a pectoral injury forced Jones to postpone.

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports

Attendees watch Yazmin Jauregui fights Ketlen Souza in a women's strawweight mixed martial arts bout during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Attendees wait for the main mixed martial arts event during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Valentina Shevchenko, right, fights Alexa Grasso in a women's flyweight mixed martial arts title bout during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sep. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Valentina Shevchenko celebrates after defeating Alexa Grasso in a women's flyweight mixed martial arts title bout during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)

Sean O'Malley and Merab Dvalishvili appear on screen during UFC 306 at the Sphere, Saturday, Sep. 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Wade Vandervort/Las Vegas Sun via AP)