PAK vs BAN: The first test of the two-match series between Pakistan and Bangladesh turned out to be an embarrassing defeat for the Men in Green. Bangladesh stunned the hosts and went on to register a historic win.
They won the game by ten wickets and made a strong statement that they can’t be written off. It has made some notable changes to the World Test Championship 2023-25 table, as well as Pakistan slipping to 8th position while Bangladesh moved to sixth place.
It wasn’t a great start to the Test season coming up for Shan Masood and his men, as they suffered an unexpected defeat in the very first game. Despite posting a big score in the first inning, Pakistan let the game slip away from their hands.
PAK vs BAN: Pakistan captain Shan Masood blames the pitch behaviour for the embarrassing defeat in the first game
After batting first, Pakistan posted 448/6 on the board and declared their first inning. Saud Shakeel (141) and Mohammad Rizwan (171*) struck brilliant centuries. The hosts were fully in control of the game. But Bangladesh responded in grand fashion.
They showed the batting of high quality, which was led by veteran star Mushfiqur Rahim. He struck his 11th Test run but was unlucky to miss a well-deserved century by just nine runs. He scored 191 runs, and contributions from Shadman Islam (93) and Mehidy Miraz (77) helped the visitors.
They finished with a 565 all-out with a lead of 117 runs. That was enough for Bangladeshi bowlers to wrap Pakistan for the second time. It was a poor batting performance for the hosts, and they were bundled out for just 146 runs. After poor batting and bowling performances in the first PAK vs BAN Test, the Pakistan captain blamed the pitch.
In the post-match presentation, he said, “Never to make it an excuse, but the pitch didn’t play the way we thought. At the end of the day we got it wrong and we will have to work away around it. You have to respect the conditions. When we play domestic cricket here it is different. Its a huge lesson for us what to expect in our own conditions.”
Pakistan went with four pacers and no specialist spinners, while for Bangladesh, Shakib Al Hasan took four and Mehidy Hasan Miraz took five wickets in the game, which made the big difference. Bangladesh have a 1-0 unassailable lead now, and the second PAK vs BAN Test will start on August 30 at the same venue.
