Bangladesh dominated Pakistan to secure victory in the first Test at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, thanks to an outstanding display from their bowlers who dismantled the Pakistani batsmen on Sunday’s fifth day.
Bangladeshi openers Zakir Hasan (15*) and Shadman Islam (9*) easily surpassed the 30-run target set by the Shan Masood-led side after dismissing the hosts for 146 in the second innings, taking only 6.3 overs.
With their win today, Najmul Hossain Shanto’s team has earned a spot in the history books as Bangladesh accomplishes their maiden victory over Pakistan in Test cricket.
During their second inning starting at 23-1 today, Pakistani batsmen struggled against the visitors with Shan Masood (14), Babar Azam (22), Saud Shakeel (0), Abdullah Shafique (37) and Salman Ali Agha (0) getting out quickly.
Despite making a courageous attempt, Mohammad Rizwan (51) was dismissed after being bowled out by Mehidy Hasan.
Nasheem Shah (3), Shaheen Afridi (2) and Mohammad Ali (0) were unable to resist the Bangladeshi bowlers for an extended period, leading to the national team being dismissed for 146.
During the fourth day, the guests outperformed and led by 117 runs by scoring 565 in response to Pakistan’s 448/6, with an impressive performance by Mushfiqur Rahim who scored 191 runs from 341 balls.
At the start of the day, the visitors were batting at 316-5 after 92 overs with Rahim (55 runs from 122 balls) and Litton Das (52 runs from 58 balls) at the crease.
Shortly after the game resumed, Shah dismissed Das by Rizwan taking a catch.
Despite this, Rahim remained strong and ultimately achieved a superb century, making him the third player to reach one hundred runs in the current Test match.
Rahim and Hasan collaborated brilliantly to put Pakistan in a difficult position. Rahim was close to reaching his fourth double-century but missed it by nine runs when Ali dismissed him.
After Rahim’s dismissal, Pakistan finished Bangladesh’s innings. Afridi dismissed Mahmud and Mehidy, while Shah took the wicket of Islam, who scored 22 runs from 14 deliveries.
The Pakistan vs. Bangladesh Test series is taking place within the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25, with both teams aiming to showcase their skills and improve their standings on the WTC points leaderboard.
Both teams have faced each other in 13 matches across six Test series, with Pakistan winning 12 and one ending in a draw.
The two teams will face each other again in the second Test at the same location from August 30 to September 3.
