Bangladesh celebrated a historic Test series sweep against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto already setting his sights on the upcoming tour of India for a similarly impressive performance.
Bangladesh proved that their win in the opening Test was not a fluke as they chased down a target of 185 with six wickets in hand to complete a 2-0 series sweep.
Zakir Hasan (40), Najmul Hossain Shanto (38) and Mominul Haq (34) made important contributions while Bangladesh stalwarts Shakib Al Hasan (21) and Mushfiqur Rahim (22) took the visitors past the finish line.
Resuming the final day on 42 without loss, Bangladesh lost Zakir and Shadman Islam in the morning session but their victory never looked in doubt.
Shanto fell after the lunch break and Mominul threw away his wicket but veterans Rahim and Shakib guided Bangladesh home without any drama. Shakib sealed the series win by hitting spinner Abrar Ahmed for four through the covers.
After the historic win, captain Shanto lauded the entire team for one of the most famous wins in Bangladesh history.
“Can't express in words, really happy. We were looking to win here, and the way everyone did their job, really happy. Bowling was very impressive. The way they did their work, that's why we got the result,” Shanto said.
It was a remarkable fightback from Bangladesh who were down and almost out at 26-6 in their first innings in reply to Pakistan's score of 274. They recovered brilliantly through Litton Das's 138 and 78 from Mehidy Hasan to make 262.
Bangladesh fast bowlers then wrecked Pakistan's batting in the second innings, with Hasan Mahmud (5-43) and express quick Nahid Rana (4-44) setting the stage for a memorable victory.
It was only Bangladesh's third away series win in 33 attempts, having also beaten the West Indies in 2009 and Zimbabwe three years ago.
Their next assignment is in India later this month where they will play two Tests and three T20s. And they will fancy their chances after outplaying Pakistan.
“The next series is very important and this win gives us a lot of confidence. We have a lot of experience in Mushfiqur and Shakib, and they will be important in India. Also, the way Miraz bowled and took five wickets in these conditions is very impressive. Hope he can do the same against India,” the captain added.
Pakistan, on the other hand, will be wondering where it all went wrong. The opening Test seemed headed for a draw before the home side's batting was blown away on the final day by Bangladesh spinners. They were eyeing a lead of around 200 in the second Test, also in Rawalpindi, before losing the plot with the ball and then the bat against the visitors' impressive pace attack.
Pakistan's pace bowlers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah were nowhere near effective, while their batting, apart from Mohammad Rizwan, seemed several levels below the quality of their Bangladesh counterparts.
Home captain Shan Masood admitted it was a poor performance from the team and that the players had not learnt their lesson from past mistakes.
“Extremely disappointed. The story has been the same as Australia, we have not learnt our lessons. It has happened four times in my tenure that we have let the team back into the contest when we were dominating,” said Masood, whose team host for a three-match Test series – starting on October 7.
“It [274] was a good score in the first innings. But we should have done better after having them at 26 for six. That's something we need to work on and work on quickly.
“It isn't all doom and gloom, there are always learning. We need to get fitter, neater and prepare better. It is going to be a long Test and domestic season and we need to be better prepared for England.”
