Bangladesh registered an emphatic win over Pakistan in the first Test of the two-match series at home after clinching the opener at the Shere Bangla National Stadium by 104 runs. The hosts set up a tricky target of 268 after losing their last few wickets in a heap, but did extremely well to shoot down the Men in Green for 163 to bag what is their first-ever Test win over Pakistan at home.
Nahid Rana was the star in the second innings with the ball as he took 5/40 and plotted Pakistan’s downfall. Pakistan were in control to at least settle for a draw despite being at 119/3, but Nahid tore apart the Pakistani batting attack, claiming four of the remaining five wickets.ย
Pakistan second team to lose three straight Tests to Bangladesh
This was Pakistan’s third Test loss in a row to Bangladesh. They were blanked 2-0 when they hosted the Bangla Tigers in 2024, and now lost the first of the two Tests to them.ย
This made Pakistan only the second team to lose three Test matches in a row to Bangladesh, something which only Zimbabwe had previously suffered. The Chevrons had defeated the Bangla Tigers in four straight matches across three series from 200 to 2004.ย
Nahid rips apart Pakistan to set up the win
In a fiery three-over spell after tea, Nahid Rana ripped through Pakistanโs middle order, removing Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan and Noman Ali in the space of just 18 deliveries while conceding only five runs.
Earlier, fellow pacer Taskin Ahmed, who finished with figures of 2/40, provided the breakthrough by dismissing Imam-ul-Haq for 2 after he edged behind.
Azan, Abdullah put up the hard work but to no avail
Debutants Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal then showed resilience, putting together a 54-run partnership similar to their resistance in the first innings. However, off-spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz deceived Awais with a sharp arm-ball, dismissing him for 15 after his impressive first-innings 103.
Nahid, despite being slightly wayward in his opening spell, soon found his rhythm and removed Pakistan captain Shan Masood to leave the hosts struggling at 68/3.
Fazal later stitched together a steady partnership with Salman Ali Agha, but Bangladesh struck back quickly after tea. Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam broke the 51-run stand by dismissing Fazal for 66, before Taskin removed Salman for 21 with a back-of-a-length delivery, reducing Pakistan to 121/5.
Shakeel and Rizwan briefly revived Pakistanโs hopes, but Nahid returned with a devastating spell, claiming three wickets in as many overs. He eventually wrapped up the innings by dismissing Shaheen Shah Afridi to complete his second five-wicket haul of the match.
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