RAWALPINDI
\nPakistan cricket\u2019s 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.
\nThe defeat marked the Pakistan\u2019s third upset loss this year after T20 international shocks against Ireland and USA, raising questions over their standing as a red-ball side \u2014 which has now lost four of their six fixtures of the ongoing World Test Championship cycle \u2014 as well.
\nPakistan went into the match \u2014 at the back of a head-to-head record of 12 wins out of 13 matches \u2014 pumped with the ambition of making next year\u2019s WTC final, intending to dismantle Bangladesh with an all-pace bowling attack, only to find themselves clueless against the visitors\u2019 spinners on the fifth day.
\nRequiring 94 runs with nine wickets in hand to cut the deficit after Bangl\u00addesh 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.
\nSeven of the Pakistan\u2019s 10 wickets were taken by off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz (4-21) and veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (3-44) \u2014 a former member of Bangladesh\u2019s recently-ousted premier Sheikh Hasina\u2019s political party.
\nThe ouster and the political turmoil affiliated with it puts into context the size of Bangladesh\u2019s achievement and the winning side\u2019s skipper Najmul Hossain said the victory was a tribute to the affected people back home.
\n\u201cWe are paying tribute to the individuals who recently passed away in our nation during the protest and praying for their souls,\u201d he said during the post-match press conference. \u201cThanks Almig\u00adhty for the win. It was very special to win on my special day.\u201d
\nWith the pitch turning out to be a batting paradise rather than a fast-bowler\u2019s 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\u2019s 93, before Mehidy and Shakib took the game on.
\nFor Pakistan skipper Shan Masood, the visitors were the better side throughout the five days of the contest.
\n\u201c\u2026 As a team, we made a lot of mistakes, Bangladesh deserved to win,\u201d Shan told reporters after the match. \u201cWe 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.
\n\u201cBut, you know, the way they batted and the way they bowled their spinners, it was sort of an awakening call for Pakistan.\u201d
\nOn Sunday, Pakistan\u2019s 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.
\nBabar Azam, who faced a testing delivery from Shoriful Islam, was eventually dismissed by Nahid Rana, adding to Pakistan\u2019s woes at 66-3.
\nThe subsequent collapse was swift. Saud Shakeel, the first innings century-maker, was stumped off Shakib\u2019s 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\u2019s defiant 51 ultimately proving insufficient as he played on Mehidy in an attempt to drag a wide delivery for a boundary.
\nThe match slipped away from Pakistan\u2019s grip in Bangladesh\u2019s first innings when Mushfiqur was on song after Shadman\u2019s defiant knock and the hosts\u2019 inability to break the visitors\u2019 stranglehold exposed their decision to not select a spinner in their playing 11.
\nAnd when Mehidy and Shakib starred on the final day, it raised more questions over the Pakistan team management\u2019s reading of the game.
\nShan defended the decision to not play a spinner, suggesting that Pakistan expe\u00adcted the overcast weather at the start of the match to stay for longer.\u201cYou can never pin it on one particular thing,\u201d he noted. \u201cAs far as the spinner is concerned, look, I gave my explanation that we thou\u00adght there was a lot of grass on the wicket.
\n\u201cThe 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.\u201d
\nSCOREBOARD
\nPAKISTAN (1st Innings) 448-6 decl (Mohammad Rizwan 171 not out, Saud Shakeel 141, Saim Ayub 56; Hasan Mahmud 2-70, Shoriful Islam 2-77)
\nBANGLADESH (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)
\nPAKISTAN (2nd Innings, overnight 23-1):
\nAbdullah Shafique c Shadman b Shakib 37
\nSaim Ayub c Litton b Shoriful 1
\nShan Masood c Litton b Hasan 14
\nBabar Azam b Nahid 22
\nSaud Shakeel st Litton b Shakib 0
\nMohammad Rizwan b Mehidy 51
\nSalman Ali Agha c Shadman b Mehidy 0
\nShaheen Shah Afridi lbw b Mehidy 2
\nNaseem Shah c Mushfiqur b Shakib 3
\nKhurram Shahzad not out 5
\nMohammad Ali lbw b Mehidy 0
\nEXTRAS (B-5, LB-6) 11
\nTOTAL (all out, 55.5 overs) 146
\nFALL 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)
\nBOWLING: 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
\nBANGLADESH (2nd Innings):
\nZakir Hasan not out 15
\nShadman Islam not out 9
\nEXTRAS (B-1, LB-5) 6
\nTOTAL (for no wicket, 6.3 overs) 30
\nBOWLING: Shaheen 2-0-8-0, Naseem 3-1-7-0, Salman 1.3-0-9-0
\nUMPIRES: Adrian Holdstock (South Africa), Richard Kettleborough (England)
\nTV UMPIRE: Michael Gough (England)
\nMATCH REFEREE: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
\nRESULT: Bangladesh won by 10 wickets.
\nSERIES: Bangladesh lead two-match series 1-0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RAWALPINDI Pakistan cricket\u2019s 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\u2019s third upset loss this year after T20 international shocks against Ireland and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427437,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-427411","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n