Pakistan vs Bangladesh: 3 Things that went wrong for the Pakistan National Cricket team

Bangladesh defeated the Pakistan national cricket team in the first test of 2 match series at Rawalpindi National Cricket Stadium. Bangladesh has created history by winning a test match for the first time against Pakistan at their home. This win has been a special one for the Bangla Tigers, who are going through a tough time after the resignation of their Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, due to protests and deadly protests that began as demonstrations by students against government job quotas. It's the first win for them against Shaheens at their home in a long format which came when they chased down 31 runs with 10 wickets remaining after getting them all out on the score of 146 during the second innings with their incredible spin bowling attack of Shakib al Hasan and Mehedi Hasan Miraz picking 3 and 4 wickets respectively.

With this win, the Bangladesh team have defeated 10 Test-playing nations till now, excluding India and South Africa and has climbed to 6th place on the ICC World Test Championship points table. At the same time, India’s arch-rivals have gone to 8th position on the table.

However, the credit for this historic win goes to the Shanto and Co for their impeccable performance with bat and bowl. But certain things didn’t go well for the Pakistan national cricket team in the first test match of the series. Through this article, we will talk about 3 things that went wrong for the Pakistani team.

1. Playing XI

One of the primary reasons for India’s arch-rival's humiliating defeat is their playing XI selection for the first game against Bangladesh. Despite knowing that the pitch conditions very well, the Pakistan cricket team management decided to go with 4 fast bowlers in their playing XI with 1 spin bowling auction, that too of a batting all-rounder Agha Salman on a spin-turning wicket at Rawalpindi National Cricket Stadium. Meanwhile, the guests picked 2 spin bowling options in their team with ace player Shakib Al Hasan and bowling all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who took a total of 9 wickets in both innings.

2. Failed to assist with the pitch condition

Irrespective of playing at their home ground, the Pakistan team failed to assist with the pitch conditions, which made them lose the match. On a pitch that was favouring the spinners, the Shaheens decided to go with 4 fast bowlers with no spin options in the squad. Apart from that, their overconfidence and self-belief were also among the main reasons for the defeat, which they showed after declaring the inning on the score of 448 runs in the first innings, irrespective of having 4 wickets in hand, they could take the game more deep with wicket-keeper batter Rizwan playing on the score of 171 runs and Shaheen Afridi on 29 runs.

This decision made by the Pakistan national team made them go on the back foot after Bangladesh gave them a lead of 117 runs by scoring 565 runs on the loss of 10 wickets.

3.  Poor Bowling performance

Another reason for their embarrassing defeat was their poor bowling performance against a side that has been seen struggling against the fast bowlers in international cricket; they failed to pick wickets at crucial times, which made them lose the match by 10 wickets. Despite having Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah in the squad, the Pakistan team was unable to break the partnership between the Bangladesh batters in the first innings giving them a lead of 117 runs in the first innings to Pakistan team with the help of senior players Mushifiqur Rahim and Mehidy Hasan Miraz who scored 191 and 77 runs, respectively.

After losing the first game of the series, the Pakistan national cricket team will see the final match of the series on August 30, 2024, at Rawalpindi National Cricket Stadium in Pakistan.