If the fourth day was about Bangladesh slowly strengthening their grip on the game, the last day was about romping to victory. Once the fast bowlers removed three of the top four Pakistan batters, the spinning duo of Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz shared the remaining seven wickets; the ball had started to turn more than it did on Saturday, with some uneven bounce as well.
On a day where cracks were more prominent on the pitch and the ball turned square, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan combined to bundle out Pakistan for 146 – the lowest team total in Tests against Bangladesh, leaving their batters to chase just 30 runs. Najmul Hossain Shanto celebrated turning 26 by becoming the first Bangladesh captain to beat Pakistan in a Test match as the visitors created history on the fifth afternoon in Rawalpindi with a thumping 10-wicket win.
Pitch and Toss
“There will be plenty of moisture to work with. There might be some help for the spinners as well. Generally the fast bowlers will have help because of all the moisture in the first session and you don’t want to waste the new ball,” says Bazid Khan.
Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and chose to bowl in conditions favorable for bowling. Pakistan skipper Shan Masood who also wanted to bowl first on a green pitch had to content with batting first.
Saud Shakeel, Saim Ayub lead Pakistan’s recovery on Day 1
Half-centuries from Saud Shakeel and Saim Ayub aided Pakistan’s recovery on a curtailed yet engrossing opening day’s play of the first Test in Rawalpindi. Only 41 overs were bowled in the day but there was sufficient time for Bangladesh to make early inroads, reducing Pakistan to 16/3, before the hosts staged a comeback as they went into Stumps at 158/4.
The day’s play began only four hours after the scheduled start, with a wet outfield keeping the groundsmen busy and the players waiting. After multiple inspections, the toss happened at 2:00 PM local time, with Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto opting to bowl, eager to make the most of the moisture on the pitch and also the generous amount of grass.
Hasan Mahmud delivered the early breakthrough, tempting Abdullah Shafique into a drive, with the resultant edge ending up in the hands of Zakir Hasan who took a fine catch at slip. Pakistan skipper Shan Masood played a classy backfoot drive square of the wicket for the first boundary of the day. But his stay was short-lived as Shoriful Islam had him caught-behind, with Bangladesh making successful use of the DRS.
Masood had a word with the onfield umpire and wasn’t happy with the decision, suggesting perhaps that the spike on UltraEdge was after the ball had passed the bat. Pakistan slipped further as Shoriful dismissed Babar Azam for a duck, getting the premier batter caught down the leg-side with Litton Das taking a stunning catch.
Shakeel started confidently, driving a Nahid Rana delivery past mid off for a boundary while Ayub, who had started watchfully, was beginning to settle in, playing drives and flicks for a few couples.
Ayub struck his first four with a cut shot off Mahmud, which was followed by an expensive opening over by Mehidy Hasan Miraz who was swept for a four by Shakeel while Ayub came down the track, made room and went over long-off for a maximum. The frequency of boundaries increased as the session went on, with the fourth-wicket pair raising a half-century stand in quick time. A stylish on drive off Rana got Ayub another boundary as he entered the 40s and went into the Tea break unbeaten along with Shakeel.
The bowlers weren’t getting any help after the initial period and both Ayub and Shakeel continued their solid partnership after Tea with some good strike rotation and boundaries interspersed.
Ayub reached his maiden Test fifty and was looking good for more but the 22-year old went for a drive away from his body and ended up edging a Mahmud delivery to slip where Mehidy Hasan Miraz took a good catch to end a 98-run stand. A good partnership between Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan ensued, the former bringing up his fifty in the process, as Pakistan went past 150 in the extended period of play before Stumps.
Rizwan, Shakeel tons headline Pakistan’s dominance on Day 2
Mohammad Rizwan’s career-best 171 and his 240-run fifth wicket stand with Saud Shakeel (141) put Pakistan in a strong position in the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. Only two wickets fell on the second day’s play as Pakistan declared their innings after reaching 448/6. Bangladesh’s openers saw through a tricky 12-over period to help the visitors to 27/0 at Stumps.
Shakeel and Rizwan continued their solid partnership into the morning session on Day 2, having added 44 the previous day. They rotated the strike well, capitalized on boundary opportunities and scored at a steady rate while the Bangladesh bowlers weren’t able to find much help, be it with pace or spin. Rizwan became the third to cross fifty in the innings when he managed to guide a well-directed short ball from Nahid Rana to the third man fence, and repeated the shot.
An authoritative pull off Rana helped Rizwan get his first six and the century stand was raised a few deliveries later as the Bangladesh bowlers struggled to make an impact despite Najmul Hossain Shanto rotating his bowling options.
They weren’t able to cut down the scoring rate too, with the Pakistan batters finding the gaps and Rizwan getting the boundaries regularly as he maintained a strike rate in excess of 80 and went past his batting partner. Both batters entered the 80s as they went into the Lunch break unbeaten having helped Pakistan add 98 runs in the morning session.
Starting the second session on 89, Rizwan got to the three-figure mark quickly, with a six and a four off Shakib Al Hasan. Shakeel, on the other hand, was happy to deal in singles and twos, getting to his hundred with a couple of Mehidy Hasan Miraz. Litton Das, meanwhile, missed a couple of takes behind the stumps to hand Rizwan reprieves. Bangladesh took the second new ball as soon as it was due but it only led to more boundaries as Pakistan crossed 300 and the fifth wicket pair extended their partnership past 200.
Litton tried to create an opportunity when Shakeel was batting out of the crease to Hasan Mahmud, throwing the ball at the stumps after the batter had shouldered arms, but he was back in the crease in time. But Shakeel had to depart eventually when he was drawn out of the crease by Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Litton was quick to bring down the bails and end a big partnership. The second session yielded 111 runs for Pakistan who continued to assert dominance.
Agha Salman struck a boundary off Rana before the Tea break and batted solidly in partnership with Rizwan as they added 44. Rizwan crossed 150 for the first time in his Test career, getting there with a six and three off Shoriful Islam. The stand, however, ended shortly before Pakistan crossed 400 as Salman got a leading edge off Shakib going for a shot over midwicket. Shaheen Afridi struck a quick-fire 29 off 24 in a 50-run stand for the seventh wicket with Rizwan before skipper Shan Masood decided to declare the innings.
Bangladesh’s openers Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan were nervous to start off with, getting outside edges off Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah for a couple of boundaries. With swing and movement, the two pacers went past the edge a few times while Khurram Shahzad also beat the bat on a couple of occasions. Islam and Hasan managed to see it through to Stumps but Bangladesh have their work cut out with the bat on Day 3.
Half Centuries from Shadman Islam, Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim leads Bangladesh fightback on Day 3
A combined, dogged effort from the Bangladesh batters helped the visitors narrow the deficit to 132 runs on Day 3 of the first Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi. Shadman Islam led the fight with a defiant 93, while the senior troika of Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das hit fifties to help Bangladesh finish on 316/5 at stumps.
Shadman and Mominul kickstarted the first big stand to bring to fruition David Hemp’s words at close of play on Day 2 after Pakistan amassed 448/6 before declaring. The Pakistan pacers started well to ping the batters on the backfoot as they made slow progress.
In the three-hour morning session, extended to allow for players to offer Namaz in the one-hour long Lunch break, Pakistan sent down 48 overs and returned with the wickets of Zakir Hasan and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto. Mominul and Shadman then picked up the pieces and stitched together a slow but defiant partnership for the next 24.1 overs.
Right at the stroke of Lunch, Shadman got to his half-century and continued to grow in strength in the next session. Mominul Haque, who had shown a bit more urgency than his batting partner, was the first to fall early in the second session when Khurram Shahzad got one length ball to nip back and breach the batter’s defence to hit the stumps.
He departed for 50. Mushfiqur’s arrival paved the way for another deficit-cutting stand worth 52 runs. Shadman survived an LBW appeal through a review and began to chance his arms in the second half of the session. He took on Agha Salman and Naseem Shah for six fours to move into the 90s. Mohammad Ali then stopped the free-flowing batter in his tracks, dismissing him with a ball similar to the one that got Mominul. Shadman departed seven short of his second Test hundred.
Pakistan’s hopes of completing their comeback in the final session was thwarted by Mushfiqur and Litton. Shan Masood brought on Saim Ayub early after Tea and reaped instant dividends as Shakib Al Hasan became the off-spinner’s first Test wicket, departing for 15. Despite this big scalp, Bangladesh pushed back again through the two senior pros, who added an undefeated 98-run stand.
The two batters got adventurous after Pakistan took the new ball in the 82nd over as they each hit fours at will. Litton went after Naseem in one over, hitting him for three fours and a six to take the team total past 300 and his own score to a 53-ball 50. In the final over of the day, Pakistan lost their final review while trying to get rid of Mushfiqur, who ended the day unbeaten on 55.
Mushfiqur Rahim puts Bangladesh in driver’s seat in Rawalpindi on Day 4
Bangladesh successfully turned the tables on hosts Pakistan on Day 4 in Rawalpindi as they finished at stumps with a lead of 94 runs and Pakistan down to 23/1 in their second innings. Bangladesh managed to overcome Pakistan’s first-innings tally of 448/6 with a combined batting effort led admirably by Mushfiqur Rahim, who ended nine short of his fourth Test double ton.
His 191 however, powered Bangladesh to 565 on a placid surface where Pakistan bowlers toiled on Day 4. Mushfiqur ensured all the dogged efforts of the previous day to cut down the deficit didn’t go waste as he and Litton Das made a watchful start in the morning session. Litton added just four runs to his overnight score of 52 but Mehidy Hasan Miraz arrived to forge another stand to frustrate the Pakistan bowlers.
The 25 overs in the morning session fetched just 73 runs but Rahim got to his 100 along the way. He grew in confidence after the Lunch break, hitting a string of boundaries in the company of Mehidy. The all-rounder played the perfect foil for Rahim, who kept the partnership and scoreboard ticking briskly in the second session.
Pakistan’s woes were doubled by the fact that they’d exhausted all their reviews towards the end of Day 3 and did not have most of the desperate appeals go their way on Day 4. The one that did was overturned by review from Mushfiqur. To make matters worse, Babar Azam dropped Mushfiqur after the senior batter got to his 150. Mehidy Hasan Miraz kept him company as Bangladesh amassed 109 runs in 31 overs, taking the lead over Pakistan.
The progression resumed in the final session as Mushfiqur scored boundaries more frequently. In the ninth over into the session, Mushfiqur edged a ball behind from Mohammad Ali to bring an end to his 341-ball essay. From 528/7, Bangladesh’s tail waged for 10.4 more overs. Mehidy Hasan Miraz finished with 77 while Bangladesh got to 565 before being bowled out.
Bangladesh then rocked Pakistan early after having taken a 117-run lead. Saim Ayub went chasing after a ball outside offstump from Shoriful Islam and nicked it to Litton. Pakistan finished the day on 23/1 in 10 overs, still trailing by 94 runs.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz , Shakib Al Hasan spin Bangladesh to historic Test win
Pakistan started the day on the backfoot at 23/1 and a deficit of 94 thanks to Mushfiqur’s exceptional 191 on Day 4. The Bangladesh bowlers ensured the batting effort of the senior pro and many of the others didn’t go in vain as they got stuck into the top-order in the morning session.
Hasan Mahmud started off by getting Shan Masood to nick one behind to Litton Das. It took a review to send the Pakistan captain back after the umpire turned down the appeal. Babar Azam nearly bagged a pair when he got an outside edge off Shoriful Islam but Litton couldn’t hold on to the ball. After a nervy start, Babar began to look a bit more composed as he nailed a cut shot off Mahmud for his first four.
Just when Babar and Abdullah Shafique looked like they could forge an important stand, fast bowler Nahid Rana got the former to play a full ball onto the stumps and depart for 22. From 66/3 onwards, the spin duo of Shakib and Mehidy Hasan Miraz took over and hastened Pakistan’s downfall. An over after Azam’s exit, Pakistan were further rocked as the first-innings centurion Saud Shakeel fell for a four-ball duck. Shakeel advanced down the track looking to work the ball to the leg side and got stumped off the left-arm spinner.
Rizwan’s wings were clipped after Lunch as Pakistan swiftly went eight down, with Shaheen Afridi falling to a ball from Mehidy Hasan Miraz that kept low and trapped him leg before.
Naseem Shah then tried to take on Shakib but hit to Mushfiqur Rahim at short mid-wicket. Rizwan put up a gritty front against Bangladesh in the company of Khurram Shahzad, as he farmed the strike as much as he could and defended his way to a 70-ball half-century. Shahzad did fine for his part, dead-batting and offering judgement to the few balls he faced. But a little after the drinks break in the second session, Mehidy changed angle and got the better of Rizwan.
The off-spinner went round the stumps and lured the batter into a risky sweep that resulted in an inside edge hitting the stumps. Rizwan trudged back for an 80-ball 51, leaving Pakistan nine down. Mehidy Hasan Miraz wrapped up the innings with his fourth wicket, trapping No.11 batter Mohammad Ali leg before. Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam then completed the formalities by chasing down the 30 runs in the seventh over.
Young fast bowler Nahid Rana cranked up the pace close to 150kmph to snare Babar Azam, Shakib stifled with his stump-to-stump lines from both sides of the wicket, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz struck with his zippy off breaks to regularly create tense moments and wicket-taking opportunities.
After Pakistan – led largely by Mohammad Rizwan’s 51 – set Bangladesh a mere 30 to win in the second session, Bangladesh hunted down the runs in 6.3 overs.
Even though the ball wasn’t swinging as much as it did on the previous evening, Bangladesh’s quicks set up their push for victory in the first session. With Saim Ayub already dismissed on the fourth day, Shan Masood fell early when he edged Hasan Mahmud to the wicketkeeper. The on-field umpire didn’t give it out, but Bangladesh reviewed and saw the decision overturned after a spike on UltraEdge.
The score of 28 for 2 could have been 28 for 3 when Babar Azam edged his second delivery, angling away from him to the keeper, but Litton Das couldn’t hold on to the chance to his right and Babar survived a pair.
He grew in confidence with some runs and boundaries, but Nahid spotted his lack of footwork and plotted his fall. He peppered Babar with short balls regularly above 145kmph to push him on the back foot, and when he pitched one up outside off, Babar’s feet didn’t move quickly and far enough, and his drive resulted in him chopping on for 22. That started the slide of wickets, halted briefly only by a counter-attacking innings from Rizwan before the lunch break.
Saud Shakeel stepped out to negate Shakib’s turn but missed and was stumped for a duck. A patient Abdullah Shafique then threw his wicket away with just over three overs left for lunch. He attempted a wild swing over mid-off only to hand a leading edge to Shadman Islam at backward point. Two balls later, Mehidy Hasan Miraz drew Agha Salman forward with a teasing off break and drew his edge, with Shadman taking a sharp catch to his left this time at slip.
Rizwan, in between, struck four boundaries on either side of the wicket to wipe out a chunk of the deficit that was 50 when he had walked out. He attacked a slightly tired Nahid with a hat-trick of fours and followed it with a slog sweep for another boundary next over that made it 26 runs scored off the two overs. But he was forced to curb his instincts with Salman’s dismissal and farmed the strike after the lunch break once Shaheen Shah Afridi was trapped in front by a Mehidy delivery that barely bounced.
Pakistan were 111 for 7 at the time, still trailing by six. They took the lead, but Naseem Shah soon handed a catch to midwicket before Rizwan took the responsibility of building some sort of a lead with his tenth Test half-century. He was going hard at the ball through his innings and this resulted in his wicket when he chopped on against Mehidy, who also trapped Mohammad Ali to wrap up the hosts.
Zakir Hasan and Shadman then ensured Bangladesh got over the line unscathed. Zakir struck three fours in his 14 and hit the winning runs with a sweep down to the vacant fine-leg fence.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Shan Masood the loosing skipper said : Never to make an excuse, it (the pitch) didn’t play the way we thought it would. Also the weather had been around in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, it rained around 8-9 days before the first day of play. Firstly looking at the pitch, we expected it to do a bit more. With three pace bowlers, they were gonna be pushed to the limit. At the end of the day, we got it wrong. Hindsight, looking at the declaration, we wanted to push the game forward.
Also with the ball and in the field, we could have done better to keep them at par. It’s a misconception, with the way it was going to take a lot. When you are playing for a draw, funny things can happen. A lot can happen under pressure. There have been mistakes and we have to do better when we play next.
There’s always room for a spinner, we lost Aamer Jamal who does well with both bat and ball. In Sydney, Sajid Khan played, going with four pacers didn’t work in this game. There have been different pitches produced, it’s a huge lesson for us on what to expect from our own conditions. The key is to consider the conditions and not make the same mistakes we have made here.
Najmul Hossain Shanto the winning skipper said : It’s very special, last night I spoke with my wife. She said if we win, it will be very good and luckily, we won today. It’s very massive, we had never won here, but we believed before the start of the series and we did really well. Especially in the last 10-15 days, we have worked really hard.
Credit goes to all the bowlers, Nahid bowled really well, Shakib was also good and Mehidy bowled with a lot of control and bowled the right lines and lengths.
Playing after a long time it’s difficult for a opener but the way he (Shadman) and Zakir batted, it really helped our team. Hopefully, they continue their form. Mushfiqur for the last 15-17 years has done really well and he is not tiring, he is playing with the same intensity. He played really well in these hot conditions. I’m not only giving credit to him but all the fifteen members of our squad.
Mushfiqur Rahim Player of the Match for his innings of 191 runs said : This is one of my finest (knocks) so far, because we haven’t done that well overseas. All the players prepared well in Pakistan and back home as well. Before the Test series, there was a two and a half months gap. All the players and management were there, the other white-ball players were playing in the World Cup. I’m thankful to the coaching staff and management.
When I meet all these guys, it’s a luxury for him (Shanto) and I try to give my best. Doing well for my country inspires me. I want to make an announcement, want to donate my prize money as there’s been a flood back in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh have created history and are truly the deserved winners. They haven’t had an easy path in Test cricket but defeating Pakistan in Pakistan is a big achievement. Shadman Islam looks towards the heavens and thanks his stars. The visitors dominated the final two days of this Test match to turn this game around.
Their bowlers were relentless today as Pakistan crumbled under pressure. Going back to start of the match, Bangladesh chose to bowl. Pakistan were on the back foot early as the visitors took three early wickets. Ayub and Shakeel steadied things with a 98-run stand and then the 240-run stand between Shakeel & Rizwan put Pakistan into the ascendancy. Both of them scored big hundreds. Pakistan took a bold call and made a declaration.
Bangladesh in reply were solid with the bat. Shadman’s 93 and Mominul’s fifty set the tone for them. Litton scored a quickfire fifty. It was the 196-run stand between Mushfiqur and Mehidy that propelled the hosts into a position of strength. Mushfiqur couldn’t score a double century as he fell short by 9 runs but the visitors’ 117-run sizeable lead pushed the hosts into back foot. The Bangladeshi bowlers bowled with fire to take a wicket before stumps on the penultimate day.
The visitors were the favourites heading into the final day but Pakistan did have a glimmer of hope. But, the visitors’ bowlers were too good and they didn’t give a sniff to the hosts. Shakib and Mehidy came to the party on a pitch that deteriorated a bit and shared 7 wickets between them to break the back of the hosts’ batting lineup. Rizwan played a gritty knock but he also fell trying to play an expansive shot. The Bangladeshi openers knocked off the required 30 runs under 7 overs to lead their side into a frenzy.
A spirited Bangladesh bowling unit rode on the confidence Mushfiqur Rahim’s 191 had instilled into their camp on the fourth day to skittle Pakistan for 146 on the fifth, and hand them a fifth loss in a stretch of nine winless home Tests. While Pakistan have not won a Test at home since February 2021 against South Africa, this was Bangladesh’s maiden Test win against Pakistan – a ten-wicket win to boot – and a rare one away from home. Leading into this game, they had won just two Tests on foreign soil in the last seven years.