RAWALPINDI: Bangladesh spinners dominated the final day before opening batters led them to a historic 10-wicket victory over Pakistan in the first Test of the two-match series here at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
This was Bangladesh’s first-ever victory in Test cricket against Pakistan.
Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam scored an unbeaten 15 and nine respectively while chasing a paltry 30-run target.
Prior to that, Bangladesh spinners Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan spun web to bundle Pakistan for a meagre 146.
Mohammad Rizwan waged a lone war for Pakistan after lunch, playing with tailenders, who could not pose much threat to Bangladesh spinners.
The wicket-keeper played a fighting 51-run knock to drag the team’s total from 108-6 to 142 before Mehidy Hasan Miraz sent him back.
Mehidy picked the final wicket in the next over as Pakistan bundled for 146, with the off-spinner returning with figures of 4-21.
Other than Mehidy, Shakib Al Hasan picked three wickets, while Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana and Hasan Mahmud bagged one each.
Earlier, the home team started the final day with a 94-run deficit. Abdullah Shafique and captain Shan Masood were unbeaten at 12 and 9 respectively.
However, Shan could add only five runs to his account, as Hasan Mahmud sent him back in the second over of the day.
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Babar Azam came out to bat and got a lifeline as Litton Das dropped him on the first ball. He along with Abdullah showed some resistance with a 38-run partnership before Nahid Rana ended Babar’s 22-run knock.
Saud Shakeel bagged his first duck in international cricket as he got stumped in the next over, leaving Pakistan reeling at 67-4.
Abdullah then added 37 runs for the fifth wicket with Mohammad Rizwan before falling prey to Shakib Al Hasan. The opening batter scored a gutsy 36 off 86.
Salman Ali Agha was the last wicket to fall before lunch as Rizwan scored 21 to drag the total to 108-6.
The home side had a disappointing start to their second innings on Day 4 as opening batter Saim Ayub (1) perished in the third over, falling victim to Shoriful Islam.
In response to Pakistan’s 448/6d, Bangladesh piled up a mammoth 565 all-out in the first innings, courtesy of a splendid seventh-wicket partnership between Rahim and Miraz.
The two-match series between Pakistan and Bangladesh is a part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) and will run from August 21 to September 4 with both matches to be played at the same venue.
Pakistan are currently ranked sixth in the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25. They have played two away series in the championship, winning 2-0 against Sri Lanka and losing 3-0 to Australia.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shehzad, Mohammad Ali.
Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Kumer Das, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana.
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