Pakistan’s batting line-up collapsed, managing just 146 runs before being bowled out. The Bangladeshi fast attack effectively dismantled Pakistan’s top order and paved the way for the spinners’ dominance, AP reported.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, an off-spinner, and Shakib Al Hasan, a left-arm spinner who previously served as a member of parliament under former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government, took seven wickets between them.
This remarkable performance marked Bangladesh’s first Test win against Pakistan in 14 matches and was a historic moment for the team.
As the tea break approached, Bangladesh’s opening batsmen were Zakir Hasan And Shadman Islam remained unbeaten, scoring 15 and 9 runs respectively. The team reached a total of 30 runs without losing a wicket, securing only their seventh away Test match win and their first since defeating New Zealand at Mount Maunganui in January 2022.
Despite retiring at 448-6, Pakistan trailed by 117 runs in the first innings. The team resumed play at 23-1, still trailing by 94 runs, but were eventually taken out by a well-disciplined combination of pace and spin bowling from the Bangladesh team.
Mohammad Rizwan, who hit his unbeaten career-best score of 171 in the first innings, again top-scored with 51 runs, but many of his teammates fell victim to impulsive batting, which was made worse by the aggressive fielding of Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto.
Miraz and Shakib were the standouts with the ball, taking seven wickets between them. Mehidy finished with impressive figures of 4-21 while Shakib took 3-44. The pace trio of Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana contributed a wicket each to contribute to Pakistan’s downfall.
The morning session marked a turning point in the game as Bangladesh consolidated their control over the match.
Pakistan struggled to cope with the pressure, losing five crucial wickets and dragging themselves to a score of 108-6. The tone was set early when Hasan Mahmud hit the edge of captain Shan Masood’s bat and took him out for 14 in the second over of the day, with the wicketkeeper completing the catch.
Masood clashed with field umpire Richard Kettleborough for the second time in the match after he made a controversial decision in the first innings that the ball could not be returned in play. However, television replays showed that the left-hander had actually hit the ball to the sideline after Bangladesh’s successful decision.
Hasan almost dismissed Babar Azam for a second nought of the match, but wicketkeeper Litton Das simply dropped the first ball that Babar received. Babar then attempted a counter-attack, hitting three boundaries before fast bowler Rana (1-30) took his wicket when he reached 22.
Pakistan’s middle-order batsmen were weak and carelessly lost their wickets to the spinners Shakib and Mehidy.
Centurion Saud Shakeel attempted an unnecessarily extravagant shot against Shakib in the first innings and failed to score a single point for the first time in his short Test career.
Abdullah Shafique also lost patience and played an overly ambitious shot against Shakib, which resulted in a catch on the top edge at point. Mehidy soon followed suit, hitting the outside edge of Salman Ali Agha’s bat in his second over.
Bangladesh kept the pressure on Pakistan after the break, with Mehidy taking three wickets after lunch. Rizwan, who had just completed his half-century, hit a sweep from the offspinner short on to his stumps and No. 11 Mohammad Ali was caught leg before wicket.
The defeat extended Pakistan’s winless streak in domestic cricket to five defeats and four draws since their last win against South Africa in Rawalpindi in 2021.
The second Test will also be played in Rawalpindi from next Friday after being relocated from Karachi due to ongoing construction work at the National Bank Stadium.
