LAHORE - Bangladesh’s spinners dominated the final day as their openers led them to a commanding 10-wicket victory over Pakistan in the first Test of the two-match series at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday. This win marks Bangladesh’s first-ever Test victory against Pakistan, a significant milestone in their cricketing history. Chasing a modest target of 30 runs, Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam remained unbeaten, scoring 15 and 9 runs respectively to seal the win. Earlier, Bangladesh’s spinners, Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan, weaved a web around Pakistan’s batting lineup, bowling them out for a paltry 146. Mohammad Rizwan fought valiantly for Pakistan after lunch, trying to build a partnership with the tailenders, but they offered little resistance against Bangladesh’s spin attack. Rizwan’s gritty 51-run knock helped Pakistan recover slightly from 108-6 to 142, before Mehidy Hasan Miraz dismissed him. Mehidy finished with remarkable figures of 4-21, while Shakib Al Hasan claimed three wickets. Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana, and Hasan Mahmud took one wicket each.The final day began with Pakistan trailing by 94 runs, with Abdullah Shafique and captain Shan Masood unbeaten on 12 and 9 respectively. However, Shan managed to add only five runs before Hasan Mahmud dismissed him in the second over of the day.
Babar Azam, who was dropped on his first ball by Litton Das, showed some resistance with Abdullah Shafique, forming a 38-run partnership. However, Babar’s innings ended at 22 when Nahid Rana struck. Saud Shakeel was stumped in the next over for a duck, leaving Pakistan reeling at 67-4. Abdullah Shafique added a fighting 36 off 86 balls before falling to Shakib Al Hasan, while Salman Ali Agha was the last wicket to fall before lunch, contributing 21 runs as Pakistan struggled to 108-6.The home side’s second innings began poorly on Day 4 when opener Saim Ayub was dismissed for 1 in the third over by Shoriful Islam. In response to Pakistan’s first innings total of 448/6 declared, Bangladesh posted a massive 565 all-out, thanks to a superb seventh-wicket partnership between Mushfiqur Rahim and Mehidy Hasan Miraz.Currently, Pakistan ranks sixth in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25, having won a series 2-0 against Sri Lanka and lost 3-0 to Australia.The second Test against Bangladesh will commence on 30 August, followed by three Tests against England in October. Pakistan will travel to South Africa for two Boxing Day and New Year Tests and will then host West Indies for two Tests in January.
SCORES IN BRIEF
BANGLADESH 565 all-out,
167.3 overs (Mushfiqur Rahim
191, Shadman Islam 93,
Mehidy Hasan 77; Naseem
Shah 3-93) and 30-0 beat
PAKISTAN 448-6d (M Rizwan
171*, Saud Shakeel 141;
Hasan Mahmud 2-70, Shoriful
Islam 2-77) and 146 all-out
(Mohammad Rizwan 51,
Abdullah Shafique 37; Mehidy
Hasan 4-21, Shakib Al Hasan
3-44) by 10 wickets.
