Pakistan slumped to a humiliating 10-wicket defeat against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. Spinners Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan took a combined seven wickets to secure Bangladesh's first win over Pakistan in five-day cricket, a stunning 10-wicket victory in the first Test in Rawalpindi on Sunday. Mehidy took 4-21 and Shakib 3-44 to spark a Pakistan collapse on the fifth day, dismissing the home side for 146 runs in 55.5 overs.
That left Bangladesh with a target of just 30 runs, which openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam reached in 6.3 overs. Zakir (15) hit the winning boundary, with Shadman at the other end unbeaten on nine, as their team celebrated a memorable victory.
After the loss, Pakistan came under heavy criticism. Also in the target was fast bowler Naseem Shah, with people criticising his fitness. Their point of concern was Naseem's “bulging belly.”
Check Naseem Shah's fitness. It is impossible for a 21-year-old to have a round belly. Boys of this age who lie at home all day cannot have a round belly, while he is an athlete.
#PAKvsBAN photo.twitter.com/LpTIqD3E8k
— Tahir Farid (@TahirFarid047) August 25, 2024
Check Naseem Shah's condition.
It is impossible for a 21-year-old to have a round belly. Boys of this age who lie at home all day cannot have a round belly, while he is an athlete.
Bacchabazi is a very common practice in Pakistan. That is the only reason.#PAKvsBAN photo.twitter.com/2M3uT99hIx
— jataayu (@WoKyaHotaHai) August 25, 2024
Question mark over Naseem Shah's fitness #PAKvBAN #PakistanCricket photo.twitter.com/Shmp9gHSh5
— (@Faizanali_152) August 26, 2024
Naseem shah ki 20 years k hoty hue fitness chk kro khaak match jeetna h aisi fitness sy#PAKvsBAN #PakistanCricket photo.twitter.com/oSnwpApmc0
— (@mantasha5566) August 25, 2024
Mohammad Rizwan top-scored for Pakistan in the second innings with 51, including six boundaries, but the home team were staring down a 108-6 defeat at lunch. A party crowd of almost 5,000 expected Pakistan to fight out a draw, but Mehidy bowled Rizwan and trapped last man Mohammad Ali for a duck in successive overs.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto dedicated the victory to those killed in the political unrest that led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina this month after weeks of student-led protests.
“We honor the people who recently died in our country during the protest and pray for their souls,” he said.
“Thank you Almighty for the win. It was very special to win on my special day,” said Najmul, who celebrated his 26th birthday on Sunday.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood described the loss as “disappointing”. “Yes, it is a very disappointing loss,” said Masood, who has lost four consecutive Tests as captain. “We did not take Bangladesh lightly but the pitch did not play as we expected.”
Bangladesh, criticised for their lack of Test wins, now have one win over Australia, England and Pakistan. The win in Rawalpindi was only their sixth in 143 Tests.
Pakistan's batting collapsed on a pitch that had been unresponsive for the first four days, until small cracks began to appear which were exploited by Bangladesh's spinners. The hosts also paid for not fielding a frontline spinner as they suffered their fifth defeat in their last nine home matches, with four draws.
Their leading batsmen also failed, with Babar Azam making only 22 and captain Masood 14. Saud Shakeel, who made the century in the first innings, was beaten by a duck off the fourth ball.
Pakistan were 117 runs behind in the first innings but resumed the match at 23-1. However, in the second over, Pakistan lost Masood to pace bowler Hasan Mahmud.
It could have been 28-3 had wicketkeeper Liton Das not dropped a regular catch from fast bowler Shoriful Islam to give Azam a first-ball respite. Azam hit three boundaries to raise hopes of a Pakistan comeback but was bowled by an inside edge from Nahid Rana for the right-arm paceman's only wicket of the match.
Shakib, whose participation in the Test drew protests at home over his political ties to Hasina, had Shakeel stump and Shafique caught a miscue before lunch. Agha Salman then fell to off-spinner Mehidy for a first-ball duck, leaving Pakistan in disarray at 105-6.
Mehidy then dismissed Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah cheaply in the space of seven runs. Pakistan have won 12 of the previous 13 Tests against Bangladesh, six by an innings, with one draw.
The second and final Test will also be played in Rawalpindi from Friday. This series is part of the World Test Championship (WTC).
With AFP inputs
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