NEW DELHI: Shan Masood found himself at the centre of massive social media criticism after Pakistan suffered a crushing 104-run defeat against Bangladesh in the first Test of the two-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.The defeat marked Pakistan’s third consecutive Test loss against Bangladesh and also handed Bangladesh their first-ever home Test victory over Pakistan.
While Bangladesh celebrated the historic triumph, powered by Nahid Rana’s fiery spell of 5/40, Pakistan fans vented their frustration online, with much of the criticism directed at Shan Masood’s captaincy.Pakistan were still in the contest heading into the final session while chasing 268, largely due to debutant Abdullah Fazal, who scored a composed 66 under pressure. He also stitched together an important partnership with Salman Ali Agha to keep Pakistan’s hopes alive.However, Bangladesh turned the game around immediately after tea. Veteran spinner Taijul Islam dismissed Fazal through a successful review before Taskin Ahmed removed Salman in the very next over.
Bangladesh vs Pakistan in Tests at home
| Result | Margin | Opposition | Ground |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lost | Inns & 178 runs | Pakistan | Bangabandhu National Stadium |
| Lost | Inns & 169 runs | Pakistan | Chattogram |
| Lost | Inns & 184 runs | Pakistan | Chattogram |
| Lost | 7 wickets | Pakistan | Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium |
| Draw | — | Pakistan | Khulna |
| Lost | 328 runs | Pakistan | Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium |
| Lost | 8 wickets | Pakistan | Chattogram |
| Lost | Inns & 8 runs | Pakistan | Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium |
| Won | 104 runs | Pakistan | Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium |
Nahid Rana then ripped through Pakistan’s middle and lower order with a sensational burst. He dismissed Saud Shakeel before bowling Mohammad Rizwan with a sharp nip-backer that crashed into the stumps.“[On the toss decision] Hindsight is 20/20. We looked at the conditions and in terms of seam bowling we had the best conditions. We got two early wickets. But in the first innings we didn’t capitalise on that and then we didn’t capitalise with the bat either,” Masood said after Pakistan’s defeat. “We could have pushed for more runs. But in the first innings, with bat and ball, we needed to do better. You can never question the effort, especially when you are playing Test cricket after six months. Test cricket on surfaces like this teaches you that when you have the game in your hands you have to push the opposition away, but we failed to do that,” Masood said. “[The debutants] Extremely pleased. When we picked them, we picked them seeing potential that they can play at this level. Their maturity was great. For them, the thing is can they be consistent in Test cricket? I think they have the potential to do that. When you get opportunities to stamp your authority we have to do that,” he said.With the defeat, Pakistan slipped two places in the updated World Test Championship standings. They were placed fifth before the match – one spot above India national cricket team – but dropped to seventh after the loss.India climbed one position, while Bangladesh also moved up two places from eighth to sixth following the emphatic victory.
