Key keywords: Pakistan Test cricket, Pakistan batting performance, first Test against Bangladesh 2024, Pakistan warm-up draw, Babar Azam century, Saud Shakeel half-century, Rawalpindi Test opener, Pakistan cricket batting depth, Saim Ayub Test debut preparation Less than a week out from the first Test of their home series against Bangladesh, the Pakistan men’s cricket team sent a clear warning to their opponents with a dominant batting display in their two-day warm-up fixture against the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) XI, even as the match ended in a tame draw in Rawalpindi on Thursday. The warm-up, designed to give both sides valuable game time on surfaces mirroring what they will face in the five-day Test series opener, saw Pakistan win the toss and elect to bowl first. Their pace attack restricted the BCB XI to 289 all out in 78.2 overs, with young fast bowler Haris Rauf picking up 3 wickets for 47 runs to set the tone. What followed, however, was the main talking point of the fixture: Pakistan’s batting lineup clicked almost perfectly across both the top and middle order. Opener Saim Ayub, tipped to make his Test debut in the series opener, looked comfortable against both pace and spin, hitting 7 boundaries on his way to a 62-ball 42 before falling to off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Former captain Babar Azam, who has faced mild criticism for his inconsistent form across formats in recent months, silenced doubters with a fluent unbeaten 111 off 134 deliveries, hitting 15 fours and a six as he anchored the innings. Middle-order mainstay Saud Shakeel, who boasts a Test batting average of over 65, continued his rich vein of form with a quickfire 88 off 102 balls, while wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan, expected to bat at number 6 in the Test, finished unbeaten on 65 off 71 deliveries. Pakistan declared their first innings at 384 for 4, taking a 95-run first-innings lead, before the BCB XI posted 252 for 7 declared in their second innings. Pakistan faced just 12 overs in their second chase before the match ended as a draw, with no result required for either side. Pakistan head coach Mohammad Hafeez told reporters after the fixture that the draw was irrelevant compared to the batting progress his side had shown. “We came into this warm-up with one goal: to give every batter in our Test squad time in the middle to adjust to the Rawalpindi pitch, and they all delivered,” Hafeez said. “Babar’s century is a huge boost for the whole team, and seeing our young players like Saim step up against a quality bowling attack gives us a lot of confidence going into the first Test. We know Bangladesh will bring their best, but our batting depth is the strongest it has been in years.” The first Test of the two-match series is scheduled to begin at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on August 21, with both sides looking to start the series on a winning note.