Pakistan vs Bangladesh: Top 3 performers from the Bangladesh cricket team

Bangladesh is a team that has been going through a tough time in their country after their Prime Minister, Sheikh Hasina, resigned and fled to India due to ongoing student protests over government job quotas. Under these circumstances, the Bangladesh cricket team made their country proud by defeating Pakistan for the first time in the red ball format in the 1st Test match of the series at Rawalpindi National Cricket Stadium. With this memorable win, they climbed to 6th place in the ICC World Test Championship by gaining 12 points. Now, they have only two Test-playing nations left to defeat in the long format of the game: India and South Africa.

However, this victory would not have been possible without the collective effort of the whole team, who stood together and performed brilliantly, providing a single positive moment for the nation amidst the eruption of riots and protests in the country, which led to the Prime Minister's resignation. In this article, we are going to talk about the top 3 performers from the Bangladesh team, who ended the 13-0 streak against Pakistan.

1. Shadman Islam:

Shadman Islam made his comeback to the national side after a long wait of 3 years. He was picked in place of ace players Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar, who were not selected for the squad after their average performances in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, where the Bangladesh team failed to qualify for the semifinals for the second time after losing a must-win game against Afghanistan.

Despite representing his country after a long hiatus, the left-handed batter scored 93 runs, helping to establish a lead of 117 runs after Pakistan posted 448 runs while batting first. The 29-year-old stood firm at the crease like a senior player when Bangladesh were 2 wickets down at the score of 53 runs in 27 overs. He formed a partnership of 94 runs for the third wicket with Moninul Haque.

2. Mushfiqur Rahim:

Mushfiqur Rahim is one of the senior players of the Bangladesh team, having been part of the team since the 2007 T20 World Cup. He has been a pillar for the team in difficult circumstances, whether in the short or long format of the game.

He returned to the Test side after missing the last Test series against Sri Lanka due to a thumb injury. However, he was not part of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, as he announced his retirement from the T20I format just before the marquee tournament. Despite this, he remains active in the longer format, and with his experience, he played a match-winning knock of 191 runs, helping Bangladesh to establish a lead of 117 runs against the Pakistani team in the second innings. He formed a partnership of 196 runs with Litton Das when wickets were falling at one end, taking the team to a total of 565 runs before being bowled out.

The 37-year-old cricketer was awarded the Man of the Match award for his impeccable knock.

3. Mehidy Hasan Miraz:

Another talented player from the Bangladesh cricket team in recent times is Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who has been impressing everyone with his all-round ability in every format. In the first Test match against Pakistan, the 25-year-old showed his prowess by scoring 77 runs, which helped Bangladesh establish a lead of 117 runs at the end of the first innings. Later, in the second innings, he picked up 4 wickets of Pakistani batters, conceding just 21 runs in his 12-over spell with an economy rate of 1.80.

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