RAWALPINDI: Pakistan cricket’s nightmarish slide continued on Sunday, when Bangladesh recorded their first ever Test triumph over the hosts, taking the opening fixture of the two-match series with a clinical 10-wicket win here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

The defeat marked the Pakistan’s third upset loss this year after T20 international shocks against Ireland and USA, raising questions over their standing as a red-ball side — which has now lost four of their six fixtures of the ongoing World Test Championship cycle — as well.

Pakistan went into the match — at the back of a head-to-head record of 12 wins out of 13 matches — pumped with the ambition of making next year’s WTC final, intending to dismantle Bangladesh with an all-pace bowling attack, only to find themselves clueless against the visitors’ spinners on the fifth day.

Requiring 94 runs with nine wickets in hand to cut the deficit after Bangl­desh had valiantly responded to their first innings total of 448-6 with a 565-run total, Pakistan were bundled out for a mere 146 before their opponents cruised to the 30-run target.

Seven of the Pakistan’s 10 wickets were taken by off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz (4-21) and veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (3-44) — a former member of Bangladesh’s recently-ousted premier Sheikh Hasina’s political party.

The ouster and the political turmoil affiliated with it puts into context the size of Bangladesh’s achievement and the winning side’s skipper Najmul Hossain said the victory was a tribute to the affected people back home.

“We are paying tribute to the individuals who recently passed away in our nation during the protest and praying for their souls,” he said during the post-match press conference. “Thanks Almig­hty for the win. It was very special to win on my special day.”

With the pitch turning out to be a batting paradise rather than a fast-bowler’s dream as Pakistan might have expected it will on the second and third days, Bangladesh were put in the driving seat by another seasoned campaigner in Mushfiqur Rahim, who scored 191 in the first innings after opener Shadman Islam’s 93, before Mehidy and Shakib took the game on.

For Pakistan skipper Shan Masood, the visitors were the better side throughout the five days of the contest.

“… as a team, we made a lot of mistakes, Bangladesh deserved to win,” Shan told reporters after the match. “We had been listening that there was nothing in the pitch, the pitch was docile, and it would be difficult to get a result out of this.

“But, you know, the way they batted and the way they bowled their spinners, it was sort of an awakening call for Pakistan.”

On Sunday, Pakistan’s innings resumed with Shan (nine) and Abdullah Shafique (12) starting from an overnight score of 23-1. However, early breakthroughs by pacer Hasan Mahmud and a dropped chance by wicket-keeper Litton Das set the tone for the day.

Babar Azam, who faced a testing delivery from Shoriful Islam, was eventually dismissed by Nahid Rana, adding to Pakistan’s woes at 66-3.

The subsequent collapse was swift. Saud Shakeel, the first innings century-maker, was stumped off Shakib’s bowling, and Abdullah, who had played a composed innings, was dismissed after an aggressive shot. Mehidy and Shakib continued to dismantle the lower order, with Mohammad Rizwan’s defiant 51 ultimately proving insufficient as he played on Mehidy in an attempt to drag a wide delivery for a boundary.

The match slipped away from Pakistan’s grip in Bangladesh’s first innings when Mushfiqur was on song after Shadman’s defiant knock and the hosts’ inability to break the visitors’ stranglehold exposed their decision to not select a spinner in their playing 11.

And when Mehidy and Shakib starred on the final day, it raised more questions over the Pakistan team management’s reading of the game.

Shan defended the decision to not play a spinner, suggesting that Pakistan expe­cted the overcast weather at the start of the match to stay for longer.“You can never pin it on one particular thing,” he noted. “As far as the spinner is concerned, look, I gave my explanation that we thou­ght there was a lot of grass on the wicket.

“The weather had been around, and it had rained every day before the game started. So, we never knew that it was going to be that clear. The forecast also indicated for the weather to be disruptive. And those were the thoughts behind the declaration as well.”

Pakistan had declared their first innings at 448-6 with Rizwan (171) and Saud (141) among the runs. This total marked their second highest first innings total in a losing cause, where they had declared their innings. Their highest remains 574-8 declared against Australia in Melbourne in 1972 before the home side won by 92 runs.

Bangladesh skipper Najmul, who also celebrated his 26th birthday on Sunday, said it was a special feeling beating Pakistan.

“It is nice to win on a birthday, special feeling,” he said. “But more special is the team’s win. It’s a historic day for us, it is massive.

“I think before we started this series, we believed we can win this time. And then… everyone really believed that we can do something special this time.”

Najmul also praised his bowlers for keeping Pakistan in check.

“Everyone showed his character, I am really happy with them. We have worked hard to achieve this win. Our bowlers did so well,” he said.

He also praised veteran Mushfiqur. “He has been playing cricket for 15-17 years and he never looks tired, doing things repeatedly over and over again,” Najmul said. “The way he batted in these hot conditions was impressive and I am really happy for him, that’s why we probably win the match.”

SCOREBOARD

PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 448-6 decl (Mohammad Rizwan 171 not out, Saud Shakeel 141, Saim Ayub 56; Hasan Mahmud 2-70, Shoriful Islam 2-77)

BANGLADESH (1st Innings) 565 (Mushfiqur Rahim 191, Shadman Islam 93, Mehidy Hasan Miraz 77, Liton Das 56, Mominul Haque 50, Naseem Shah 3-93, Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-88, Mohammad Ali 2-88, Khurram Shahzad 2-90)

PAKISTAN (2nd Innings, overnight 23-1):

Abdullah Shafique c Shadman b Shakib 37

Saim Ayub c Litton b Shoriful 1

Shan Masood c Litton b Hasan 14

Babar Azam b Nahid 22

Saud Shakeel st Litton b Shakib 0

Mohammad Rizwan b Mehidy 51

Salman Ali Agha c Shadman b Mehidy 0

Shaheen Shah Afridi lbw b Mehidy 2

Naseem Shah c Mushfiqur b Shakib 3

Khurram Shahzad not out 5

Mohammad Ali lbw b Mehidy 0

EXTRAS (B-5, LB-6) 11

TOTAL (all out, 55.5 overs) 146

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-5 (Saim), 2-28 (Shan), 3-66 (Babar), 4-67 (Saud), 5-104 (Abdullah), 6-105 (Salman), 7-111 (Shaheen), 8-118 (Naseem), 9-142 (Rizwan)

BOWLING: Shoriful 11-2-20-1, Hasan 10-3-20-1, Shakib 17-3-44-3, Nahid Rana 6-0-30-1, Mehidy 11.5-2-21-4

BANGLADESH (2nd Innings):

Zakir Hasan not out 15

Shadman Islam not out 9

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-5) 6

TOTAL (for no wicket, 6.3 overs) 30

BOWLING: Shaheen 2-0-8-0, Naseem 3-1-7-0, Salman 1.3-0-9-0

UMPIRES: Adrian Holdstock (South Africa), Richard Kettleborough (England)

TV UMPIRE: Michael Gough (England)

MATCH REFEREE: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)

RESULT: Bangladesh won by 10 wickets.

SERIES: Bangladesh lead two-match series 1-0.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2024