MOMENTS

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.

Bangladesh women's cricket team have an opportunity to clinch their third ODI series against Pakistan as they face the visitors in the final match of the three-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.

Skipper Nigar Sultana Joty's match-winning boundary in the Super Over clinched a tense second ODI and got the Tigresses back level in the series last Tuesday.

Bangladesh spectacularly levelled the series 1-1 against India in their last ODI series at home with the dramatic third ODI ending in a tie as that game did not feature a Super Over. Even though the option for a Super Over will be there today, Joty made her intentions clear about not having to use it.

"I am not thinking of a draw. There is a big possibility for us to clinch the series and everything will be dependent on playing positive cricket. It will be a big achievement if we can win the series," Joty said at a press conference yesterday.

The Tigresses, who won the preceding T20I series 2-1 against Pakistan, will hope for a repeat of the same scoreline in the ODI series but familiar batting issues have pegged them back recently.

Bangladesh were all-out for just 81 in the first game with only three batters reaching double figures.

"We have been struggling with our batting. Those who are staying in the crease are staying for too long but not scoring enough or if the top-order is doing well, the middle-order is getting out quickly. If we can put on 200-plus at least in case we bat first, it will be difficult to chase," Joty said.

An agonising five-run defeat against Pakistan saw Bangladesh bow out of the ongoing ICC Under-19 World Cup from the Super Sixes on Saturday. The reigning Asian Champions had high hopes of winning the title for the second time since 2020, and it seemed as if a semifinal berth was almost in their grasp. The Daily Star's Mazhar Uddin caught up with Stuart Law, the coach of the Bangladesh Under-19 side, as he reflected on the things that went wrong, takeaways for the young Tigers from the tournament in South Africa among a few other topics. The excerpts of the interview are as follows:

The Daily Star (DS): It must have been a painful exit for the Bangladesh team from the ICC Under-19 World Cup.

Stuart Law (SL): We spoke about not only winning the match but also in the time where we needed to keep that run-rate above Pakistan to qualify and spoke about the best way to do this. We won the toss and we would bowl first and try to restrict Pakistan under 200 which we did and did very well. Bowling was excellent; great performance from (Rohanat Doullah) Borson and (Sheikh Parvez) Jibon and they were standouts with the ball in hand and our fielding was excellent. We took great catches and executed a good run-out. We were really up for the fight. Then when we were batting, we knew we have 38.1 overs to score the runs which work out in four runs per over. Unfortunately, the pressure got a bit too much for us and Pakistan bowled very well with good pace. The pitch was different from what we been playing in Bloemfontein as there was good bounce and wasn't batter-friendly, so it was always going to be a little bit difficult. However, we feel we should have won the game and we should have been progressing to the semifinals. It was heartbreaking.

There were a lot of tears in the dressing room and the boys were really upset and disappointed with their performance with the bat after putting on a great performance in the field. It was a tough one to comprehend and to explain the last evening for the players, it was difficult. We all wanted to continue this journey forward but unfortunately it was cut short.

DS: How much does it hurt you as a coach?

SL: It doesn't hurt me as a coach but it hurts me because the players are so upset. I am not here for myself, I am here for the players. I have been on this journey for 20 months with them and I think I have missed one practice game in cricket throughout the whole 20 months. To watch these boys to develop not only as young cricketers but also as young men, it was a huge outpour of emotion. I hope you don't want to feel that often as I said to the boys last night (Saturday), 'look pain of this defeat will disappear, it's the memories that we created will last forever. Just think about the memories we are still Asia Cup champions and will remain the Asia Cup champions for the next two years. That's a huge positive and the first time Bangladesh achieved the feat. So there's really good things we have achieved along with the journey and we have numerous series wins and two wins outside of Asia. Hopefully, the hurt of missing out on the semifinal will disappear quickly and we fly out of South Africa today and hopefully starting from tomorrow, it will be a lot easier to forget about it.

DS: Do you think batting was a concern for the team throughout the tournament?

SL: I always think we could have been better in all areas but we are talking about kids who are under-19. Every day they are going to make mistakes as a young man learns from making mistakes. Yes, we have made similar mistakes quite often which is probably more concerning than actually making the mistake. It's a development stage in their career; to play at the higher level under extreme pressure is only going to benefit them in the long run. Yes, everyone wants to win, don't get me wrong, this age group shouldn't be all about winning. We should bank on unearthing some of the talents for the Bangladesh senior team in years to come. I think we have achieved that quite well.

DS: Who are the players you think can go on to represent the senior team soon?

SL: There are a few and from the bowling point of view. I mentioned Borson and I will get back to the Asia Cup semifinal against India and in the final against UAE, he was unbelievable. We had a good quality back up in Maruf (Mridha) and (KIqbal Hossain) Emon as well. But the standout fast bowler would be Borson and probably the lesser mentioned spinner would be Jibon. In all conditions, whether it's a spinning one or not he finds a way to create pressure and put dot balls together and he got wickets in important time and he was outstanding against Pakistan too. There's another: Ariful (Islam) -- against Ireland, USA and Nepal he scored some quick runs to elevate the run-rate. I think they got to develop in how to get better in their games and there is one thing that Ariful needs to learn is how to rotate the strike when there is pressure. (Ashiqur Rahman) Shibly had a good Asia Cup as well and he is probably on the radar.

DS: What will be your message to the players who will now take a step further in domestic circuit from the under-19 level?

SL: My message would be to go out there and to listen to their coaches. Every coach has a different philosophy at different level and you need to do what the coach and the team needs. The process doesn't change; what they have learnt here will give them success everywhere they go as long as they stick to it and believe it. Batting is one of the departments which still needs developments and needs to understand the value of a solid defence, being able to use your footwork and create better opportunities to rotate strikes and power. They all got power in their timing, so they don't really need to go to all these power hitting coaches. You know 90 percent of your power comes from your makeup, DNA. So these guys need to find another way to get the job done as they have got good skills. Just keep drilling these things.

DS: What is your personal plan from here on?

SL: I haven't been spoken to by Bangladesh about continuing. There are a few opportunities in the pipeline for me. I would dearly like to stay with Bangladesh and continue my work here and really enjoyed seeing the boys from the 2016 Under-19 side as part of the coaching panel back then and how they are doing well at the international stage. I really enjoy my time in Bangladesh and I don't have any bad words to say as it's a great place to work and the players are receptive and responsive and eager to learn and get better. That just gives you a great feeling to continue. Conversations are yet to happen, so I don't know at this stage what is going on.

Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan was included in the Tigers' 16-member squad for the upcoming Test tour of Pakistan despite Bangladesh Cricket Board sources claiming that the 37-year-old's fitness for red-ball cricket would be taken into consideration before selection.

Shakib played in Bangladesh's last red-ball assignment in May when the Tigers hosted Sri Lanka for a two-match series and has featured in T20 cricket since then, including stints in the Major League Cricket in the USA, the Lanka Premier League in Sri Lanka, and a deep run in Canada's GT20.

Middle-order batter Shahadat Hossain Dipu was left out, while Mushfiqur Rahim and Taskin Ahmed returned to the side. 

The Tigers will leave for Lahore tomorrow and will train at the Gaddafi Stadium on August 14, 15, and 16 before the first Test begins on August 21. The second match will start on August 30.

SQUAD: Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Liton Das, Mehedi Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Syed Khaled Ahmed

Bangladesh pacer Hasan Mahmud revealed that the Tigers were looking to finish the game by the end of Day 4 of the second Test against Pakistan at the Rawalpindi Stadium on Monday. 

The visitors raced off to 42 for no loss in seven overs while chasing Pakistan's 185-run target, courtesy of a few wristy blows from opener Zakir Hasan, before proceedings were called off due to bad light and subsequent rain. 

Zakir smashed two fours and as many sixes, while Shadman remained vigilant for his nine runs before the interruption took away an entire session of play.

"If it had not rained, we would have tried to finish the game today or within the first session tomorrow," Hasan told reporters after the day's play. 

Earlier, Hasan, playing his third Test, picked up a maiden five-wicket haul which helped to bundle out Pakistan for 172. Hasan became the first Bangladesh pacer to take a fifer against Pakistan and his pace partner Nahid Rana also registered his best figures (4-44). Taskin Ahmed picked up the other wicket as the pacers accounted for all 10 wickets in an innings for the first time in Bangladesh's Test history. 

"Whenever a fast bowler is given the ball, there is only one plan which is how he can bowl wicket-taking deliveries. Taskin [Ahmed] started it and Rana [Nahid] came on. He was superb, he was excellent. The momentum perhaps shifted towards us. Then I came to bowl and I maintained my process and got my wickets.

"It's very joyful and a matter of pride to get five wickets for your country and team. Playing a Test match and winning it and now getting the chance to win another one makes me very happy."