It’s fair to say that the result of the Pakistan-Bangladesh Test series wasn’t what most people expected, even the most diehard supporters of the visiting side. But the 2-0 verdict didn’t flatter the Tigers in the least – as the 10-wicket and 6-wicket margins would suggest.
As with all things, there are two ways to look at this result. While there will be lot of chest-beating in Pakistan, the improvement in Bangladesh – especially their fast-bowling arsenal has been eye-catching. Add to it, the spectre of turmoil and political instability back home, and one has a riveting storyline.
One has seen some highs in Bangladesh cricket in recent years, but hopes of a sustained upturn in their fortunes were dashed when such results turned out to be exceptions rather than the rule. But the series outcome in Pakistan could be expected to be a sign of Bangladesh turning the corner. A prominent reason could be that the wins were secured in clinical fashion in the second half of games. A target of 185 in the fourth innings of the second Test could have prompted anxiety, especially with arguably the biggest series result in the country’s history on the line. But the top six batsmen all made valuable contributions – even if the individual scores in themselves were not eye-catching – with grizzled veterans Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan coolly getting them over the line.
Shakib didn’t set the world on fire in the two Tests, but made vital contributions to the team. He is Bangladesh’s greatest cricketer of all time and performed despite being charged in a murder case related to the political turmoil back home.
The backdrop seemed to have given Bangladesh inspiration to overcome the odds. Their overseas coaching staff could only join the team in Pakistan due to the instability in the country. While on tour, they constantly received news of friends, family members, colleagues, and even fellow cricketers injured, arrested, missing or worse during the political agitation. Floods in the country made the situation worse. The players in Pakistan were determined to provide their countrymen a reason to smile.
What else could explain the proceedings on Day 3 of the second Test? After managing 274 in their first innings, Pakistan had Bangladesh at 26/6 with all their specialist batsmen back in the pavilion. Khurram Shahzad and Mir Hamza were making the ball talk under helpful conditions. It seemed that normal service was restored after the upset in the previous game.
Turning the tables
But wicketkeeper-batsman Litton Das and spin-bowling all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz refused to toe the script. They got themselves entrenched in the middle, survived the tough period, saw off the main bowlers, milked the others before putting their foot on the gas to reverse the pressure. The 165-run stand for the seventh wicket, and the 69-run partnership for the ninth between Das and fast bowler Hasan Mahmud demonstrated that Bangladesh were never ready to give up.
In the second half of the game, the visitors did what they had done in the first Test, bowling out Pakistan for well below 200 and chasing down the target without much drama. That the two wins were secured with a lot of time lost to the weather just underscores which side played better Test cricket for a longer period.
That all 10 Pakistani wickets fell to pace in the second innings of the second Test proves the evolution of Bangladesh’s bowling attack that could make them competitive away from home. Shakib will not go on forever and while Mehidy is a class performer with bat and ball, the emergence of speedster Nahid Rana and Hasan Mahmud gives them another dimension, for which Bangladesh should be grateful to legendary pacemen Allan Donald and Courtney Walsh, who worked as bowling coaches in the past.
Bangladesh will soon be in India for a Test series, and though what happened in Pakistan would not alter the fact that the hosts will be overwhelming favourites, Najmul Hasan Shanto & Co can be quietly confident that the home team, which rarely does anything other than win on its own turf, may not have things all its own way. Bangladesh’s middle-order batting and spin bowling is in experienced hands and they have unearthed a promising battery of pacemen, which needs to be taken good care of.
The reversal at home is likely to prompt a lot of soul-searching in Pakistan. Some former players have called it the darkest chapter in their cricketing history, but that’s just over-reaction.
House in disarray
But the decision-makers in Pakistan cricket have reason to ponder whether they have accorded long-form cricket the respect it deserves. Preparing for Tests entails playing first-class cricket, and the home team was undercooked in that regard. It explains what captain Shan Masood meant when he said that Pakistan prepared for a maths exam by studying science.
In this era of franchise T20 leagues eating into more and more of the cricket calendar, that’s not a problem exclusive to Pakistan. And with the country hosting the 50-over ICC Champions Trophy early next year, there is no easy solution in sight.
But Pakistan’s plight in Test cricket is not limited to one series. Masood has lost the first five matches he has led his country in, and it has been a long time since they won a game on home soil. They don’t really know what constitutes home advantage for them, alternating between placid tracks and green-tops, depending on the opposition, without getting the desired results.
Their main batsman, Babar Azam is going through a prolonged lean patch, and it seems a long time since he was considered to be knocking on the door of the ‘Fab Four’ comprising Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Joe Root and Kane Williamson. Not many prolific young batsmen appear to be coming through the ranks. That wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan is their most reliable batsman as well as troubleshooter shows the brittle nature of their line-up.
The cupboard, as far as spin bowling is concerned, seems to be bare, but the manner in which the Pakistan pace attack was out-bowled by Bangladesh in the city of Shoaib Akhtar adds insult to injury. Not too long ago, Shaheen Shah Afridi was considered one of the premier fast bowlers in the world before injuries and loss of pace made him ineffectual. Naseem Shah was once touted as a future star, but he hasn’t yet displayed the fitness to perform in Tests on a consistent basis. And with the likes of Haris Rauf effectively turning their backs on Test cricket, things don’t look promising ahead of England’s arrival.