 "Bangladesh players celebrate a Pakistan wicket on Day 5 of the first Test in Rawalpindi. AP")
Bangladesh chased down the small 30-run target without the loss of a wicket on Sunday to collect their first-ever win over Pakistan. Before this, Pakistan had won 12 of 13 Tests between the two teams with the other finishing in a draw.
But in the first Test at Rawalpindi, Bangladesh bowlers took five wickets in the morning session on Sunday to edge the visitors towards a historic win as Pakistan’s batting crumbled on the final day.
The job was completed in the second session with only Mohammad Rizwan providing some resistance. He was eventually dismissed for 51 runs by Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
Left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hasan was the chief difference-maker in the first session. He finished with three wickets, including that of Saud Shakeel for a duck and Abdullah Shafique for 37 to leave Pakistan tottering at 108/6 at lunch.
Mehidy Hasan cleaned up the tail to finish with figures of 4/21 were Pakistan dismissed for 146.
Small cracks on the Rawalpindi pitch began helping the spin bowlers, who had struggled with an unresponsive track on the first four days, and the Pakistan batters faltered.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsBabar Azam failed again after scoring 22 and skipper Shan Masood only managed 14. First innings century-maker Saud Shakeel then fell for a fourth-ball duck.
Trailing by 117 from the first innings, Pakistan resumed the day from 23/1 but lost Masood in the second over, caught behind off pacer Hasan Mahmud.
It could have been 28/3 had wicketkeeper Liton Das not dropped a regulation catch off fast bowler Shoriful Islam to give Azam a first-ball reprieve.
Azam hit three delightful boundaries to raise hopes of a fightback but was bowled by an inside edge off Nahid Rana for the right-arm paceman’s first wicket of the match.
Shakib, whose participation in the Test drew protests at home over his political ties to ousted premier Sheikh Hasina, had Shakeel stumped and Shafique caught off a miscued shot for figures of 2/24.
Agha Salman fell to off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz for a first-ball duck, leaving Pakistan in tatters at 105/6.
Pakistan scored 448/6 declared in their first innings while Bangladesh replied with 565 — their highest total against Pakistan.