A surreal series victory

It still feels surreal that Bangladesh have won their first-ever Test series against Pakistan 2-0 and that too on Pakistan soil.

The Tigers scripted the epic with a six-wicket win in the second and final Test in Rawalpindi yesterday, a week after their 10-wicket triumph in the opening Test at the same venue.

The watershed moment came when Bangladesh, set 185 for a memorable series sweep, reached the target in the fifth afternoon, with Shakib Al Hasan (21 not out) hitting the winning runs -- a boundary down the covers off leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed.

Mushfiqur Rahim, who struck a monumental 191 in the first Test, was at the other end unbeaten on 22.

If the first Test win was a statement of perseverance from the Tigers, the second Test was a captivating story of coming back from a precipice to the pinnacle, something witnessed very rarely in the history of Test cricket.

Reduced to a hopeless 26-6 in their first innings on the third morning in reply to Pakistan's 274, Bangladesh appeared to be in a similar situation of throwing up a good initiative they had done many times before.

However, a record 165-run stand between Liton Das and Mehedi Hasan Miraz for the seventh wicket irrevocably turned the game on its head before the pace trio of Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana, and Taskin Ahmed put Bangladesh in pole position to win the game from the jaws of an embarrassing defeat.

In a rare demonstration of aggressive pace and swing bowing, which has been a hallmark of their more illustrious opposition, the pace trio shared all Pakistan wickets for 172 runs. Hasan was the wrecker-in-chief with 5-43.

Lanky right-arm pacer Nahid was a treat to watch with his pace and precision. The 21-year-old had top batters like Babar Azam, Shan Masood, and Saud Shakeel nibbling at those short-pitched deliveries to finish with 4-44.

Taskin took the other wicket to make sure Bangladesh pacers took all 10 opposition wickets in a Test innings for the first time.

The series win against Pakistan will go down as the best achievement for the Tigers in the longest format for not just the weight of the opposition, but also for the positive changes in mindset and improvements in all three departments of the game.

The biggest change is the coming of age of a pace bowling unit capable of putting sustained pressure. While Nahid provides raw pace, Hasan has that uncanny ability to move the ball both ways. With Taskin and Shoriful Islam, who missed the second Test due to a niggle, providing depth and Ebadot Hossain on a recovery trail, Bangladesh's pace unit appears to have turned into an important cog in an otherwise historically spin-dominated attack.

The shining light of the series was all-rounder Miraz. Coming in to bat at number eight, he featured in two match-winning partnerships -- 196 runs for the seventh wicket with Mushfiqur in the first Test where he scored 77, and 165 with Liton in the second Test where his contribution was 78.

Miraz finished with a series haul of 10 wickets and deservedly won the player of the series award.

An ageless Muhsfiqur provided that solidity in the middle-order with the bat. His 191 in the first Test was a masterclass from a master batter.
Liton has also lived up to his potential as a true successor to Mushfiqur. His 138 in the second Test might not be full of beans, but an innings of maturity under pressure.

The ground fielding, apart from those four dropped catches, was excellent and the fitness level of players in four gruelling days under scorching heat was commendable.

In the two Tests, Bangladesh were certainly the better side.

However, going into their next assignment later this month against India, the Tigers still have some areas to improve on, especially with the top-order batting.

Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto has been going through a lean patch with the bat and so has been Mominul Hoque, whose best in the series has been a half-century. Besides, against the quality attack of India, the openers Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan need to come up with a more compact defence to give Bangladesh solidity at the top.

Though Shakib was brilliant with the ball, he struggled with the bat. He was having some issues with his left eye [Central Serous Chorioretinopathy] and it was quite noticeable while he was batting and fielding. The team management needs to look into this issue considering the fact that Shakib bats in a key position for the team.

Despite having areas for improvement and the obvious challenges going forward, this series victory will further the confidence of the team that they can be competitive in the most demanding format of the game, not just at home but also away from home.