Before the start of the two-match home Test series between Pakistan and Bangladesh, hardly anyone imagined the future of the home side and how poor they would be even against a side not known much for their red-ball cricket, especially outside home. But the last two years of the longest format haven’t been healthy for the hosts, as they have lost five of their last ten Tests, besides drawing the rest five.
Before the start of the series against the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led side, the discussion was whether he could get the advantage off the surface, which they haven’t in the recent few years.
In the very first game at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, the Shan Masood-led side didn’t start well with the bat as they lost a few quick wickets early in the game before Pakistan’s wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel stitched a vital partnership of 240-runs between themselves for the fifth wicket to take them to over 400-run mark.
Imran Khan questions Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman for terrible defeat vs Bangladesh
One of the biggest questions raised before the start of the opening game was whether the team management’s decision to go with an all-pace attack and leave out their spinner from the game, despite the game being played in Asian conditions, would have given the pacers a break.
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Most of the Pakistan fast bowlers, including the veterans Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, were playing after such a long time, and it wasn’t easy for them to keep on bowling a huge amount of overs with the same consistency and regularity.
Bangladesh took full advantage of the situation and posted a huge score of 565 in their first innings, thanks to the 191-run marathon knock from their experienced wicket-keeper batter and the former captain, Mushfiqur Rahim, while opener Shadman Islam missed out on his well-deserved century by seven runs.
The lower-order contributed well, thanks to twin half-centuries from Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, to earn a vital 117-run lead. The Pakistan batting department couldn’t stand well before the visiting spinners in the third innings, as the pitch had already started to break down quite a bit. Apart from Rizwan, no one could stand tall as Bangladesh scripted their main Test win over Pakistan.
The same story continued in the second game at the same venue. Their former captain of the format, Babar Azam, continues to go through a horrible time with the bat across formats, as even after getting well set in the middle, he wasn’t able to get a big score in the middle. The spinners couldn’t do much with the ball against the visiting batters.
Despite having the opponents at 26/6, they let the game slip from the position with no such attacking field placement or bowling plans, which helped Litton Das and Miraz put a 162-run stand for the seventh wicket. Pakistan again struggled in their second innings, as no batter could go past the half-century mark before Bangladesh chased down the 185-run target quite comfortably with six wickets in hand.
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The former captain of the ‘Green Brigade,’ Imran Khan, has rated this defeat as the lowest point of their cricket, as he questions the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
“Pakistan Cricket Team suffered the biggest disaster in the history. Bangladesh has humiliated us. This is the lowest point in Pakistan Cricket. The world is laughing at our cricket but nobody dares to question Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi.”- The World Cup-winning captain spoke in Adyala Jail.
Pakistan will now host England from the first week of October in a three-match red-ball series.