Bangladesh won a series for the first time against Pakistan after securing a six-wicket win in the second Test in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. Chasing 185, the visitors approached the target with caution, and though losing four wickets, pulled off the 2-0 series sweep, only 25 minutes before tea on the final day.
This was a great victory for Bangladesh, as they fought their way to reach 262-all out in response to Pakistan’s first-innings total of 274 after being once reduced to 26/6 in the first innings. A vital 204-run partnership between Litton Das, who scored 138 off 228 balls, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who contributed 78 off 124 deliveries, brought Bangladesh into the match.
Buoyed by the performance with the bat, the Bangladesh bowlers put in an excellent performance in Pakistan’s second innings, bundling them out for 172 in 46.4 overs. A modest target of 184 runs was thus left to be chased for Bangladesh.
The opening duo of Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam provided a good start in the chase, as 58 runs were added before being separated. Bangladesh, however, didn’t lose their cool and went about their sedate but sure-footed approach to reach 213-8. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto made 38 runs and Mominul Haq contributed 34 as Bangladesh tightened their noose on the game. The seasoned duo of Mushfiqur Rahim 22 and Shakib Al Hasan 21 then saw them through as Bangladesh created history at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
(The victory) Means a lot, I can’t express it in words,” Shanto said during the post-match presentation. “Really happy. We were looking to win here and very happy with the way everyone has done their job. Very impressive, the work ethic of our pacers was great and that’s why we got the result. Everyone is honest with themselves and they want to win, I hope they continue.
Meanwhile, a dejected captain of Pakistan, Shan Masood, felt sad about his team not learning from the mistakes committed earlier on. He regretted their failure to keep the control over crucial moments of the game.
“Extremely disappointed, we were excited for the home season. Story has been the same as Australia, we have not learned our lessons. We thought we were playing good cricket in Australia but not doing the job, that’s something we need to work on. It has happened four times in my tenure that we have let the team back into the contest when we were dominating,” Masood said.
