Litton and Mehidy lead Bangladesh's splendid fightback in 2nd test against Pakistan

RAWALPINDI, Pakistan (AP) — Century-maker Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz led a Bangladesh fightback in the second test, overshadowing Pakistan fast bowler Khurram Shahzad’s maiden five-wicket haul on Sunday.

Litton laced his attacking 138 with 13 fours and two sixes while Mehidy made an equally impressive 78 that propelled Bangladesh to 262 after Shahzad's early burst had left the tourists reeling at 26-6 inside the first hour on Day 3.

Pakistan, which lost the first test by 10 wickets last week, lost opener Abdullah Shafique and nightwatchman Shahzad to fast bowler Hasan Mahmood and limped to 9-2 at stumps for an overall lead of 21 runs.

“I was a little bit nervous when I came out to bat before the first drinks interval,” said Litton, who struck his fourth test hundred and second against Pakistan. “I took it positive way and took responsibility with Miraz when they had a good momentum.”

Shafique had a below-par series by scoring only 42 runs in four innings before he edged Mahmud and the fast bowler capped the perfect day for Bangladesh by knocking back the stumps of Shahzad in the last over of the day.

“We have to take responsibility as bowling and fielding side,” Litton said. “If we bowl in right areas they will struggle. This wicket is not easy to bat on, and we have good spinners and pacers.”

Shahzad snared 6-90 but both Litton and Mehidy counterattacked the right-arm seamer after lunch with an enterprising 165-run partnership while keeping sole specialist spinner Abrar Ahmed at bay (0-83) as Pakistan's third seamer Mohammad Ali left the field due to dehydration.

“I enjoy batting with Mehidy, he’s always positive and we talked how to score in that situation,” Litton said.

Shahzad added two more to his four-wicket burst in the morning session when Mehidy, who hit 12 fours and a six, offered a tame return catch to the right-arm fast bowler and Taskin Ahmed was pinned down leg before wicket.

Litton raised his century soon after tea when he cut Ahmed to the third-man boundary and further frustrated Pakistan by raising 69 runs with No. 10 Mahmud, who made 13.

Pakistan was scratchy in the field as Ahmed couldn’t hold onto a tough one-handed return catch when Litton was on 90 and then skipper Shan Masood dropped a low catch off Mahmud at short cover.

All-rounder Salman Ali Agha, who bowled 41 overs in the first test after Pakistan left out Abrar but bowled just 3.4 overs this time around, finally ended Pakistan’s misery in the field when Litton was caught at long-on after staying at the wicket for 5.5 hours.

Earlier, the Bangladesh top order stumbled against Shahzad and Mir Hamza’s (2-50) impeccable seam and swing and slumped to 26-6 inside 34 balls after they resumed Sunday at 10-0.

Shahzad started Bangladesh’s slide when Zakir Islam (10), the only top-order batter to reach double figures, softly flicked the right-arm seamer to mid-wicket. Shahzad then clean bowled left-hander Shadman Islam round his legs and then induced a sharp inswinger to strike the stumps of captain Najmul Hossain Shanto inside one over.

Left-armer Hamza kept up the pressure from other end and induced a leading edge from Mominul Haque before first test century-maker Mushfiqur Rahim fell to an outswinger and edged behind the wicket.

Shahzad capped the best session of the series for Pakistan when he had Shakib Al Hasan leg before wicket before Litton and Mehidy dominated the pace and spin by raising a superb century partnership and led Bangladesh's comeback.

“Such phases do come in test matches," Shahzad said, who shared the new ball with Hamza after Pakistan rested its frontline pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah for the second test.

"We had one good session, but when the ball didn’t swing (after lunch), they put up a good partnership and we struggled.”

Pakistan had capitalized on four dropped catches to score 274 on Day 2 after the first day was washed out due to persistent rain in Rawalpindi.

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

Pakistan's Khurram Shahzad, center, celebrates with teammates after taking wickets of Bangladesh's Najmul Hossain Shanto during the third day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Khurram Shahzad, performs Sajdah, a prayer bow in gratitude to God, after taking his fifth wicket, during the third day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Mehidy Hasan Mirza, left, bumps his fist with Litton Das during the third day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Mehidy Hasan Mirza plays a shot during the third day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Litton Das, right, and Mehidy Hasan Mirza run between the wickets during the third day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Mehidy Hasan Mirza, left, helps to Litton Das to get relief from a cramp during the third day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Litton Das celebrates after scoring century during the third day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Litton Das plays a shot during the third day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Litton Das kisses his helmet after scoring century during the third day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Mehidy Hasan Mirza plays a shot during the third day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Bangladesh's Najmul Hossain Shanto looks wickets as he is bowled out by Pakistan's Khurram Shahzad during the third day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Mir Hamza, center, celebrates with teammates after taking wicket of Bangladesh's Mominul Haque during the third day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Khurram Shahzad bowls during the third day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Khurram Shahzad, center, celebrates with teammates after taking wickets of Bangladesh's Najmul Hossain Shanto during the third day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

Pakistan's Khurram Shahzad celebrates after taking wickets of Bangladesh's Najmul Hossain Shanto during the third day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Sunday, Sept. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Nobel memorial prize in economics was awarded Monday to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson for research that explains why societies with poor rule of law and exploitative institutions do not generate sustainable growth.

The three economists “have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country’s prosperity,” the Nobel committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said at the announcement in Stockholm.

Acemoglu and Johnson work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Robinson conducts his research at the University of Chicago.

“Reducing the vast differences in income between countries is one of our time’s greatest challenges. The laureates have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for achieving this,” Jakob Svensson, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences, said.

He said their research has provided "a much deeper understanding of the root causes of why countries fail or succeed.”

Reached by the academy in Athens, Greece, where he is due to speak at a conference, the Turkish-born Acemoglu, 57, said he was surprised and shocked by the award.

“You never expect something like this," he said.

Acemoglu said the research honored by the prize underscores the value of democratic institutions.

“I think broadly speaking the work that we have done favors democracy,” he said in a telephone call with the Nobel committee and reporters in Stockholm.

But he added that “democracy is not a panacea. Introducing democracy is very hard. When you introduce elections, that sometimes creates conflict.”

Asked about how economic growth in countries like China fits into the theories, Acemoglu said that "my perspective is generally that these authoritarian regimes, for a variety of reasons, are going to have a harder time ... in achieving ... long-term sustainable innovation outcomes.”

Acemoglu and Robinson wrote the 2012 bestseller “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty,’’ which argued that manmade problems were responsible for keeping countries poor.

In their work, the winners looked, for instance, at the city of Nogales, which straddles the U.S.-Mexico border.

Despite sharing the same geography, climate, many of the same ancestors and a common culture, life is very different on either side of the border. In Nogales, Arizona, to the north, residents are relatively well-off and live long lives; most children graduate from high school. To the south, in Mexico’s Nogales, Sonora, “residents here are in general considerably poorer. ... Organized crime makes starting and running companies risky. Corrupt politicians are difficult to remove, even if the chances of this have improved since Mexico democratized, just over 20 years ago," the Nobel committee wrote.

The difference, the economists found, is a U.S. system that protects property rights and gives citizens a say in their government.

Acemoglu expressed worry Monday that democratic institutions in the United States and Europe were losing support from the population. “Democracies particularly underperform when the population thinks they underdeliver," he said. “This is a time when democracies are going through a rough patch. … It is, in some sense, quite crucial that they reclaim the high ground of better governance."

The economics prize is formally known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The central bank established it in 1968 as a memorial to Nobel, the 19th-century Swedish businessman and chemist who invented dynamite and established the five Nobel Prizes.

Though Nobel purists stress that the economics prize is technically not a Nobel Prize, it is always presented together with the others on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.

Nobel honors were announced last week in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace.

Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands.

Journalists listen when Jan Teorell of the Nobel assembly announces the Nobel memorial prize in economics winners during a press meeting at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, Monday Oct. 14, 2024. (Christine Olsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Academy of Sciences permanent secretary Hans Ellegren, center, Jakob Svensson, left, and Jan Teorell, of the Nobel assembly announce the Nobel memorial prize in economics winners, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A Robinson during a press meeting at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, Monday Oct. 14, 2024. (Christine Olsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Academy of Sciences permanent secretary Hans Ellegren, center, Jakob Svensson, left, and Jan Teorell, of the Nobel assembly announce the Nobel memorial prize in economics winners, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A Robinson during a press meeting at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, Monday Oct. 14, 2024. (Christine Olsson/TT News Agency via AP)

FILE - Daron Acemoglu of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology smiles in this image taken on June 22, 2019 in Kiel, Germany, as he and Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson won the Nobel prize in economics for research into reasons why some countries succeed and others fail. (Frank Molter, dpa via AP, File)

The Nobel memorial prize in economics awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A Robinson, seen on screen, during a press meeting at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, Monday Oct. 14, 2024. (Christine Olsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Academy of Sciences permanent secretary Hans Ellegren, center, Jakob Svensson, left, and Jan Teorell, of the Nobel assembly announce the Nobel memorial prize in economics winners, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A Robinson, seen on screen, during a press meeting at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, Monday Oct. 14, 2024. (Christine Olsson/TT News Agency via AP)

FILE - A close-up view of a Nobel Prize medal at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md., Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

The Nobel economics prize is being announced in Sweden

The Nobel economics prize is being announced in Sweden

FILE - A bust of Alfred Nobel on display following a press conference at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. (Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency via AP, File)