Pak vs Ban: From dominance to disaster-Pakistan's extraordinary collapse against Bangladesh

In the 2nd Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan, we witnessed a strange thing when the home team was looking good before lunch while playing on the score of 106 runs, forming a hundred-run partnership after the fall of the first wicket on the score of 0 between opening batter Saim Ayub and captain Shan Masood. The Shaheens lost 9 wickets in the span of just 158 runs, making it more difficult to save the series with only 264 runs on the board while batting first on day 2 of the final Test series, with 3 days left to play at Rawalpindi National Cricket Stadium.

Pakistan entered into this match after a terrible performance in the opening game of the series, where they lost the match by 10 wickets due to the poor performance of batters who failed to give a target of more than 30 runs to the Bangladesh team, which chased it down easily. This loss prompted several changes in the Pakistan team, with star pacer Shaheen Afridi getting dropped and 3 new players being called by the Pakistan Cricket Board to save the series.

It was a shameful defeat for India’s arch-rival, who had until now dominated the Bangladesh team in long formats by winning 12 out of 11 games in the past. This win not only shocked them but also opened their eyes looking forward to the ICC World Test Championship, which will be played in 2025, and the ICC Champions Trophy. With this win, the Pakistan team has come down to the number 8 position on the ICC World Test Championship ranking, while the Bangladesh team has climbed to number 6 position in the standings.

Looking at the importance of the match, Pakistan made a great comeback in the 2nd Test when, after the fall of Shafique’s wicket on the score of 0 runs in the first over of the innings, captain Shan Masood and Saim Ayub formed a partnership of 99 runs before lunch, with Shan Masood playing on 53 runs and the opening batter on 43 runs. It looked like Pakistan had got the start they were searching for in the last match. But just after lunch, they faced 2 continuous blows, with Masood getting LBW out on the score of 57 and Ayub losing his concentration after scoring a brilliant half-century in the over of Mehidy Hasan, getting stumped on 58 runs.

Bangladesh spinners got the momentum they were searching for from the morning session as they got another wicket of Saud Shakeel, who scored a ton in the last match, on the score of 16 in the over of Taskin Ahmed. Now, all the hopes were on Pakistan's star batter Babar Azam, who tried to fight by forming small partnerships with Saud Shakeel and Rizwan for the 4th and 5th wickets. However, he failed to take the score beyond 179 runs, as he got LBW out in the over of Shakib Al Hasan on the score of 31 runs; a struggling innings came to an end.

However, the home team should thank batting all-rounder Agha Salman, who took the team to a respectable total of 264 runs by scoring 54 crucial runs at the end. It will be really interesting to see how Pakistan's bowling attack is going to work in the absence of star pacer Shaheen Afridi, who has been dropped for the final Test of the series.

Meanwhile, Mehidy Hasan Miraz was the leading wicket-taker for the Bangladesh team, taking 5 wickets and conceding just 61 runs in his 23-over spell. Along with him, Taskin Ahmed, who was picked in the playing XI in place of Shoriful Islam, who suffered a groin injury, bagged 3 wickets in his comeback match, showing his experience and skills for the Bangladesh team at the right time.