Resurgent Bangladesh display signs of an exemplary unit in Test cricket
ICC World Test Championship
Chattogram(2024), Grenada(2009), Mount Maunganui(2021), Rawalpindi(2024). Bangladesh now add Sylhet(2026) to the list of these iconic events in their history as they defeat Pakistan by 78 runs and whitewash the series 2-0 eventually winning their first home series against an Asian full-member team except Afghanistan. This is Bangladesh's fourth straight win against Pakistan in Test matches, all of which have come under captain Najmul Hossain Shanto. Shanto is now Bangladesh's most successful captain in Tests with 8 wins in 18 matches surpassing Mushfiqur Rahim's record of 7 in 34 games. His counterpart, Shan Masood has now lost 12 out of 16 games as captain with a losing percentage of 75%, the third worst among captains with a minimum of 15 games after Brendan Taylor(81.25%) and Shakib Al Hasan(78.95%). With this win, Bangladesh leaps ahead of India to 5th in the WTC rankings as Pakistan stays at 8th, one spot above the struggling West Indies. Bangladesh are now ranked in the ICC rankings for the first time in this format, another historical achievement for the Phil Simmons led side.
Litton Das, a genius at shepherding the tail
In a career that has quietly accumulated 54 Test matches, Litton Das has become somewhat of a crisis man for his team. The 31-year old loves batting against Pakistan and all his three against them hundreds have now come in situations where he has bailed his team out of crunch situations. In 2021 at Chattogram, Litton walked in with the score at 49-4 and partnered with Mushfiqur Rahim hitting an excellent 114 and helping his team to a total of 330 in the process. Litton added a fighting 59 but an unfortunate batting collapse costed his side an 8-wicket loss. Fast forward three years later in 2024 at Rawalpindi when Bangladesh had their back against the walls losing 6-26, he put on a 165-run partnership with Mehidy Hasan Miraz and scored a crucial 138 to help his side complete a remarkable come-from-behind 6-wicket win. Litton also played a significant hand against India at Mirpur in 2022 when he walked into bat at 102-5 in the second innings and contributed with 73 to set a tricky 145 run target. India were laboring at 74-7 but Shreyas Iyer and Ravichandran Ashwin saved their blushes with a 71-run unbeaten partnership.
On the opening day of this Test, Litton was batting at 2 when Mehidy played a nervous hook shot straight to deep fine leg leaving the scorecard at 116-6. Generally, batters play their natural game until their side loses 8 or 9 wickets and then start protecting their tail-enders in order to add some extra runs to the total. Mohammad Rizwan is one example from the same match where he exposed both Hasan Ali and Sajid Khan to the left-arm spin of Taijul Islam and it worked in favor of Bangladesh. But Litton Das calculated and planned very early at the fall of the sixth wicket that he will need to change his approach to give his side a challenging total. With three left-handers in the tail, Litton took charge against Sajid Khan's off-spin playing out most of his overs by himself. He stood like a rock for his side, defeating all the plans Pakistan employed against him. They attacked him early, tested him with the short ball, employed in-and-out fields but Litton had all the answers.
Litton Das now averages 59.91 against Pakistan in 7 Tests
He put on 60 with Taijul, 38 with Taskin and 64 with Shoriful as Bangladesh ended up with a total of 278, the last four wickets adding 162 runs. Litton was extremely severe against the short ball scoring his 126 at a Strike Rate of 79.24 as his ability to find regular boundaries left Pakistan and their captain Shan Masood shell-shocked. The visitors once again struggled to remove the lower-order cheaply and Masood looked lost for most part of Litton's innings allowing them to snatch away all the advantage in the first innings. Litton came back in the second innings to add another 100-run partnership with Mushfiqur Rahim, their seventh in 27 innings pitching in with 69 more. Litton's role in this game wasn't over as took a sharp catch behind the stumps to remove a well-set Babar Azam on 47 in the last innings taking home a well deserved Player-of-the-Match award. Bangladesh will travel to Australia and South Africa in the next six months and this performance from Litton Das will give him much-needed boost ahead of a busy red-ball period for the hosts.
History-maker Mushfiqur is not going anywhere
The highest run-scorer for Bangladesh in Test cricket, Mushfiqur Rahim became the highest century-maker for Bangladesh with his 14th career century and his second against Pakistan. After being dismissed by an inswinger from Khurram Shahzad in the first innings, Rahim joined hands with Litton Das at 115-4 in the second innings. Realizing that the pitch got better to bat on Day 3, Rahim knew they had to push the target out of Pakistan's reach and ensure a second straight series win for this side. The 39-year old was asked before the game about his retirement plans. Mushfiq chose to answer with the bat becoming the last batter to be dismissed in the second innings but not before Bangladesh set their opponents a world-record target of 437.
Watching Mushfiqur bat in Test cricket is always a delight. The way he uses his soft hands, employs his feet against the spinners and uses his crease to good effect serves as an excellent tutorial for the youngsters. There were too many soft dismissals from the hosts, especially their openers in this Test. Mahmudul attempted a lazy poke on the second ball of the match falling for a duck while his partner Tanzid Hasan Tamim who was making his debut was still in a white-ball hangover playing two very poor shots against Pakistan's new-ball bowlers. Shanto in the first innings and Monimul in the second also edged lazily to the keeper but Rahim showed his experience by playing a chanceless knock of 137 winning his first Player-of-the-series award in Test cricket.
Mushfiqur Rahim is almost at the swansong at his career and his presence around the side should help the youngsters learn the art of building an innings in International cricket. Bangladesh is now playing as a powerful side in the longest format thanks to Rahim's presence in the middle-order for the last 20 years. Rahim who has seen the transition of this side from being pushovers to a confident side with a winning mentality will be mighty pleased to leave this side in capable hands whenever he decides to hang his boots.
Second innings resilience provides slight optimism for Pakistan
Bangladesh were carrying the tag of favorites before the start of this Test series and they completely dominated the visitors for the first eight days. Pakistan did not enjoy a single period of dominance until they were set an improbable target of 437 at the Sylhet International Stadium. Even after winning both the tosses and choosing to bowl in helpful conditions, Pakistan stayed behind the game for the first three innings of this Test. None of their senior batters contributed in this series and the only century for them came from the bat of debutant Azan Awais. Hasan Ali failed to the compliment Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Abbas, who carried the bowling on his shoulders in both matches. Their spinners failed poorly when compared to the hosts and their captain bore a surrendered look in the field throughout the series.
Amidst all the chaos, Pakistan can draw some inspiration from the character they showed in the second innings. They looked dead-and-buried when their young openers walked out to bat at the end of Day 3 yet they kept the Bangladeshi bowlers at bay for the entire Day 4 giving them a mini-scare when Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha put on a partnership of 134 runs but eventually fell short on the morning of Day 5. Sylhet provided a quality pitch where batting became easier in the second innings, completely opposite to the Mirpur pitch and Pakistan latched on to that opportunity. Shan Masood and Babar Azam's second innings partnership started the fight. They scored at a rate 5.1 not letting the bowlers settle on a consistent line and length. A strangle down the leg side for Babar and a brilliant reaction catch at square leg by Joy ended Masood's innings but Agha and Rizwan came together at 162-5.
Both of them played out a few testing spells navigating the period with sound defense as they spend more time on the crease. Once the partnership grew, each run was adding pressure on the Shanto's men. After playing together for 230 balls, Agha was finally castled by an arm-ball out of Taijul Islam's armoury. Soon after Hasan Ali departed when Rizwan started exposing the tail early in the over unlike Litton Das in the first innings. With 7 batters dismissed at stumps, Bangladesh sniffed an opportunity and dismissed the last three wickets quickly next morning but only after a brief attacking partnership between Sajid and Rizwan. However, scores of 71 by Shan Masood and Salman, 94 by Rizwan and Babar's 68 & 47 did signal a defiant resolve which has been missing in Pakistan cricket for a long time. Special mention to Babar who was their best batter in the match until he was undone Nahid Rana's pace and a poor caught-behind down the leg side. Can Pakistan use this innings as a push to improve results in the longest format?
Taijul Islam headlines the bowling effort on a tough pitch
Taijul Islam is Bangladesh's leading wicket-taker in Test cricket with 263 scalps. In a team full of superstars, it's not surprising to see him being overlooked on a few occasions. Nahid Rana and the fast-bowling unit have hogged the limelight off-late for Bangladesh. Mehidy Hasan Miraz takes the sole bowling spot in overseas conditions thanks to his batting ability but Taijul is not bothered about any personal attention. A workhorse by nature, Taijul continues his work quietly in the background.
Taijul was the fifth bowler used in all four innings by captain Najnul Hossain Shanto due to the green-looking nature of the pitches and the plethora of left-handed batters in Pakistan's top-order yet he ended up as the highest wicket-taker of this series. What makes Taijul standout is how quickly he adapts himself according to the game situation. He can act as a partnership-breaker, attack both the edges of the batters, bowl defensive long-spells if needed and can also wipe out the tail quickly. He has played only 8 out 59 games outside Asia with about 70% of them coming at home which is the chief reason why he succeeds on these new pace-friendly pitches. On Wednesday, Taijul completed his 18th fifer in Test cricket and took 9 wickets in the match to give his side a historic win at home.
Taijul had mentioned at the end of Day 3 that the pitch is easy to bat on and Pakistan stands a chance of chasing a world-record of 437. He came in as the third-change and bowled 34.2 overs in the innings taking 6-120. Taijul provided crucial breakthroughs at three different junctures to his side when it seemed like Pakistan were crawling back in the game. Realizing the helpless nature of the wicket, he kept flighting the ball to extract some turn and used his arm ball smartly. His dismissal of Salman Ali Agha with the new ball was a testament to his experience, turning the previous one and then sending one straight through the defense to break the 144-run partnership. Taijul struck again on the morning of Day 5 to remove Sajid Khan with a flighted delivery that was edged to first slip after Pakistan threatened to do the unthinkable playing in an aggressive fashion.
Taijul Islam took 13 wickets at a bowling average of 19.62 becoming the highest wicket-taker in this series
The southpaw knows his role in the side is not only limited with the ball. With the Bangladeshi batting ending at No. 7, Taijul often acts as a bridge between the tail and the established batters. Although he only has a highest score of 47 in 99 innings, his ability to spend time at the crease and play with a strong defense provides additional value. In this match alone, he batted for 91 balls across both innings, putting up a 60-run stand with Litton Das in the first innings and 77 with Mushfiqur Rahim in the second. Taijul Islam has been a huge asset for his side over the years who gets forgotten easily due to Bangladesh playing limited Test cricket every year but remains a vital cog to their recent rise as they have now leapfrogged Pakistan to become the 7th-ranked side in Tests, their highest ranking in this format.
What next for both the teams?
Bangladesh cricket team is enjoying a very uncommon resurgence in the longest format. After failing to deliver for the first 24 years, the last two years have been extremely prolific for this team and there are many people behind-the-scenes who deserve the credit. Fast bowling coaches Allan Donald, Ottis Gibson, Andre Adams and the present coach Shaun Tait have all contributed to build this commendable fast-bowling pool. Mushtaq Ahmed, their spin bowling coach and Phil Simmons, the head coach have been with the side for more than two years now. Najmul Hossain Shanto has led this side with ferocious intensity becoming the most successful captain for Bangladesh in this format after only 18 games in-charge.
The attitude and hunger of this team in the last few years is a testament to their success. The bowling line-up looks lethal, their experienced batters are leading the charge and the fielding has improved leaps and bounds. Bangladesh will travel to Australia in August for the first time since 2003 to play Test cricket. They will play their matches in Darwin and Mackay. Darwin has not hosted any Test match since 2004 and this will be the maiden Test match at Great Barrier Reef Arena, Mackay. Shanto urged for more opportunities against the "Big Three" in the post-match interview and with England visiting Bangladesh in early 2027, hopefully these opportunities will increase in the next FTP cycle.
Pakistan are going through a very rough time in this format. Having finished ninth in the last WTC cycle, they are again languishing in the bottom two with only 4 points from 4 games, thanks to the 8-point over-rate penalty imposed on them in the First match. Frequent coaching and squad changes have robbed them of any real consistency. Pakistan needs a clean slate with a plan in place to pick the best talents from their domestic cricket and give them a run in both A teams and the national side by benching the non-performing superstars. Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal are products of the same and they will hope these two continue their impressive start in the future assignments. Pakistan travel to West Indies for a two-match series followed by a three-match arrangement in England this September. Will Shan Masood continue as captain? How long will they continue with Abbas and Khurram Shahzad, their two best bowlers on this tour? Will there by further changes in the middle order? Plenty of questions which will be answered in due time.
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