Pakistan’s Naseem Shah, second right, celebrates with teammate after taking the wicket of Bangladesh’s Zakir Hasan during the third day of first cricket test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Friday, Aug. 23, 2024. AP/PTI
In a historic result, Pakistan lost the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on Sunday. Shan Masood’s side went into the game with four specialist pacers and Agha Salman who is an all-rounder has been picked as the frontline spinner in the side. When asked about not playing the frontline spinner after the game Masood would reason rain.
“The weather had been around in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, it rained around 8-9 days before the first day of play,” Masood said after the game. He also acknowledged that they did read the pitch and it did not behave the way they wanted. With three pace bowlers, they were gonna be pushed to the limit. At the end of the day, we got it wrong.”
Bangladesh on the other hand played three-seamers and two spinners in their bowling attack. Both Shakib-Al-Hassan and Mehidy Hasan, combined to pick nine wickets in the game.
While the wicket seemed to be tilted towards the batting for the first three days of the Test match the cracks opened up and the ball started to take more turns from Day 4 which resulted in Pakistan getting bowled out for 146 in their second innings after conceding a 117-run lead in the first innings. The Bangladesh spinners were right on the money and picked up seven of the 10 wickets.
The second Test starting on August 30 will also be played at the same venue when asked if there will be a room for spinner in the next game Masood would respond by saying, “There’s always room for a spinner.”
“In Sydney (3rd Test vs Australia in January 2024), Sajid Khan played, going with four pacers didn’t work in this game. There have been different pitches produced, it’s a huge lesson for us on what to expect from our conditions. The key is to consider the conditions and not make the same mistakes we have made here,” Masood added.
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First uploaded on: 25-08-2024 at 16:27 IST
