Kolkata: There seems to be no end to Pakistan’s misery as Bangladesh’s top-order refused to buckle under the pressure of a tricky fourth-innings chase to pull off a six-wicket victory and complete a 2-0 series sweep in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. Chasing 185, Bangladesh relied on steady contributions from Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque before Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan anchored them to a famous victory.
Pakistan have now lost 10 consecutive Tests at home — their worst streak since 1969-75 when they went 11 home Tests without a win — sparking outrage in the country with many former players lambasting this performance. “It is hurting that our cricket has come to this stage. Bangladesh deserve credit for their disciplined performances. But the way our batting has collapsed in this series is a bad sign,” batting legend Javed Miandad said.
Early exits from World Cups, acrimonious captaincy changes and inept management, the last few months have been particularly challenging for Pakistan cricket. It has led Miandad to believe that this result was waiting to happen. “I wouldn’t just blame the players because whatever has happened in the board (PCB) in the last one-and-a-half years and the captaincy and management changes have affected the team,” Miandad was quoted as saying by PTI.
Subcontinent teams take pride in their home record but Pakistan haven’t lived up to that expectation, having lost to Australia and England in 2022. “Home series were always considered our best chance of beating the best sides in the past. But for this to happen the batsmen need to get runs,” said Inzamam-ul-Haq. Never before has that need been so sorely felt with all 10 wickets in Pakistan’s second innings of the second Test falling to pace after left-arm spinner Shakib and off-spinner Miraz had orchestrated the first defeat.
“If you can’t handle a bit of pace and movement even at home then the future is not very bright for us,” said former Test batter Ahmed Shehzad. Younis Khan believes it’s becoming a mindset problem. “Our batters have got runs in the past but right now I think they need mental strengthening and a clear mind to overcome this crisis,” he said.
This is Bangladesh’s third away Test series win, the previous two having come in 2009 (2-0 vs West Indies) and 2021 (one-off Test vs Zimbabwe). Overall, this was only their fourth Test win in seven years on foreign soil.
“It (the series win) means a lot,” Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said. “Everyone chipped in in this series, it’s totally a team game. I hope this culture will go forward.”
Bangladesh came into this series having lost 12 of their last 13 Tests against Pakistan, but Shanto said they were more confident this time. “Before we came here we were looking to win,” Shanto said. “The way everyone did their job, (I’m) really happy. The most important thing is their work ethic.” The first Test win had already given Bangladesh an edge but at 26/6 in the first innings of the second Test there was a chance of that hard work being undone. Litton Das’s 138 and Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s 78 however turned around the innings as Bangladesh fell just 12 runs short of Pakistan’s first innings score of 274. Pakistan slipped further from that point, dismissed for 172, before Bangladesh put together one of their finest Test chases.