KHURRAM SHEHZAD AWAN:
Bangladesh crushed hosts Pakistan by 10 wickets and posted maiden Test victory in the first Test match of the ICC Test Championship Series here at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday. The second Test will start on August 30 at the same venue.
Pakistan batting lineup was totally collapsed in second innings against the best spin bowling attack of Bangla Tigers. In second inning Pakistan team made just 146 runs all out only Mohammad Rizwan made half century with 51 runs whereas six batters could not touch double figures. This is the first time in the history of Test cricket. Pakistan and Bangladesh played 13 test matches before this, Pakistan won 12 Tests and one went draw. In the 14th Test match, Bangladesh broken the jinx by claiming 10 wicket victory over hosts Pakistan.
Bangladesh captain Shanto said in his post-match press conference: “It is an historical win against the best pace bowling side with a margin of 10 wickets, this victory will bring back the happiness on the faces of Bangladesh people who are suffering in bad political situation in the country. Bangladesh spin bowlers under the supervision of senior Shakib ul Hassan performed superb and made the Pakistan under pressure. We will try to continue same performance in the next Test match at the same venue starting from December 30.”
Pakistan captain Shan Masood said: “We own this defeat as a sportsman but we were not over confident but did lots of mistakes which cause this historical defeat. We think, we did mistakes while reading the pitch, our strength was fast bowling but I give credit to the Bangladesh team who played very well and they put good score on the board and then with their best spin bowling attack won this match. The pitch behavior was not as per our expectations”
Critical analysis:
There are several reason behind the historical defeat of Pakistan against Bangladesh. First main important factor is the misreading of the condition of pitch by the Pakistani players but Bangladesh read it well and used the spin bowling accurately which caused their maiden victory. Secondly , the selection of Pakistan team is not as per the condition of the pitch , Pakistan team relied on the pace bowlers but the demand of the wicket was spin bowling that why they didn’t include a special spinner in the playing eleven which was a biggest mistake of host side.
