Bangladesh clinch their first test series win against Pakistan

Bangladesh Cricket News by
Bangladesh first test series win

On Tuesday (3rd September 2024), the Bangladesh men’s cricket team created a sensation by securing their maiden test series victory against Pakistan by 2-0. The team under Najmul Hossain Shanto’s captaincy claimed a 6-wicket victory against the hosts in the 2nd test match of the series at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

Moreover, it is Bangladesh’s 8th overseas test victory, which includes two of them in Zimbabwe (1-0 series in 2021), West Indies (2-0 series in 2009), Pakistan (2-0 in 2024), and each one in Sri Lanka (1-1 in 2017) and New Zealand (0-2 in 2018).

Earlier, in this series, Bangladesh achieved its first test match victory against Pakistan by 10 wickets in the history of test cricket. This gave the Bangladeshi cricketers a ray of hope to seal the series by securing their first test series win on Pakistan soil.

There were higher chances for Shan Masood’s led side to level the series at 1-1. But, the Pakistani bowlers weren’t able to maintain the momentum against the visitors’ batting line-up.

The effective contributions of Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz with the bat in the 1st innings overshadowed the half-centuries of these Pakistani batters namely Saim Ayub, Shan Masood, and Agha Salman. Similarly, Pakistan’s medium pacer Khurram Shahzad’s 6-wicket haul in the first innings went in vain as the Bangladeshi bowlers Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, and Nahid Rana contributed their part effectively to lead their team to a tremendous victory. As a result, Bangladesh currently ranks above England at the 4th position in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 points table.

How did Bangladesh claim their maiden test victory against Pakistan?

Once again Najmul Hossain Shanto decided to bowl first against the hosts and his men exhibited a strong batting and bowling performance to pull off a tremendous victory. Here are the key highlights from the 2nd test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh:

1. Ayub-Masood-Salman’s Half Centuries:

The brilliant contributions from Saim Ayub, Shan Masood, and Agha Salman propelled Pakistan to a total of 274-10 in 85.1 overs, and the scores of these three batters in 1st innings are listed below:

  • Saim Ayub: 58 runs from 110 balls (including 4 fours and 2 sixes).
  • Shan Masood: 57 runs from 69 balls (including 2 fours).
  • Agha Salman: 54 runs from 95 balls (including 3 fours and 2 sixes).

2. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed Dismantling Pakistan Batting Line Up:

The duo bowlers Mehidy Hasan Miraz (5-61 in 22.1 overs) and Taskin Ahmed (3-57 in 17 overs) grabbed eight crucial wickets which included 2 maiden overs each, whereas Nahid Rana and Shakib Al Hasan took a single wicket each. This helped Bangladesh to restrict the hosts below 300 runs.

3. Litton Das Century: A Game-Changing Moment

The victory wouldn’t have been possible for Bangladesh without the century of Litton Das (138 runs from 228 balls – including 13 fours and 4 sixes) and Mehidy Hasan’s half-century (78 runs from 124 balls – including 12 fours and 1 six).

Bangladeshi batters were left struggling after Shakib Al Hasan’s dismissal. At one stage, the visitors were unable to compete against Pakistan’s bowling attack hanging with a score of just 26-6 in 11.3 overs. However, the 165-run partnership between Das and Hasan prevented the collapse of Bangladesh’s innings at an early stage and scored 262-10 in 78.4 overs.

4. Khurram Shahzad’s 6-wicket Haul:

Despite Khurram Shahzad’s 6-fer in 21 overs by conceding just 90 runs (including 3 maiden overs), supported by the contributions of Mir Hamza (2-50 in 16 overs) and Agha Salman (2-13 in 3.4 overs), Pakistan was in a lead by just 12 runs.

5. Pakistan Batters Flop Show Repeats in 2nd Innings:

Similar to the first test match, Pakistan batters continued with their flop show in 2nd innings. Agha Salman remained unbeaten at 47 runs from 71 balls (including 6 fours and 1 six) and Mohammad Rizwan scored 43 runs from 73 balls (including 5 fours). However, the remaining batters failed to make a huge score, which resulted in the hosts surrendering to a low total of 172-10 in 46.4 overs. As a result, Pakistan’s lead was reduced to just 184 runs.

6. Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana, and Taskin Ahmed’s Crucial Contribution:

The effective performances of Hasan Mahmud (5-43 in 10.4 overs), Nahid Rana (4-44 in 11 overs), and Taskin Ahmed (1-40 in 10 overs) made it simpler for the Bangladeshi batters to chase a target of just 185 runs.

These are the worthy contributions from these batters that proved valuable for Bangladesh to secure a comfortable and historic victory on Day 5:

  • Zakir Hasan: 40 runs from 39 balls (including 3 fours and 2 sixes).
  • Shadman Islam: 24 runs from 51 balls (including 2 fours).
  • Najmul Hossain Shanto: 38 runs from 82 balls (including 5 fours).
  • Mominul Haque: 34 runs from 71 balls (including 4 fours).
  • Mushfiqur Rahim: *22 runs from 51 balls (including 1 four).
  • Shakib Al Hasan: *21 runs from 43 balls (including 1 four and 1 six).

Despite the rain playing a spoilsport in Bangladesh’s run chase on Day 4, the opener Zakir Hasan, skipper Najmul Hossain, and Mominul Haque led the team from the front and placed their team in a strong and safe position. Later, the experience of Mushifqur and Shakib steered Bangladesh to a convincing victory.

Overall Facts and Stats from Pakistan vs Bangladesh 2nd Test Match

These are the interesting facts and stats gathered from the 2nd test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh:

1. Pakistan’s 2nd whitewash in Home test series:

Unfortunately, this is the second occasion where Pakistan lost all the tests on the homeground since their loss against England by 0-3 in 2022-23.

2. Third-Highest Successful Targets Chased Down by Visiting Side vs Pakistan:

Bangladesh registered the third-highest successful run chases against Pakistan on homeground and here are the important stats listed below:

  • Sri Lanka’s 220 run-chase at Rawalpindi in 2000.
  • England’s 208 run-chase at Lahore in 1961.
  • Bangladesh’s 185 run-chase at Rawalpindi in 2024.
  • England’s 176 run-chase at Karachi in 2000.

3. Bangladesh’s Third Highest Successful Run Chase in Test Cricket:

This is the third-highest successful run chase for Bangladesh in test cricket following these performances against these teams :

  • West Indies: 215 runs in 2009. 
  • Sri Lanka: 191 runs in 2017.
  • Pakistan: 185 runs in 2024.