Pakistan must ‘play for pride’ against ‘superior’ Bangladesh: Aamir Sohail

Following the fourth day's play in the second and final Test in Rawalpindi on Monday, Pakistan are staring at a first-ever Test series defeat against Bangladesh as the visitors, with 10 wickets in hand, are 143 runs away from creating another chapter in their history following a maiden Test win against Pakistan a week ago.

Former Pakistan opener and captain Aamir Sohail said that despite the match being out of Pakistan's control after their second innings collapsed to 172 yesterday, they must "play for pride".

"Tomorrow is the final day of the Test match. It's going to be difficult, of course [for Pakistan]. If the rain stops, Pakistan players will have to play as if their lives are on the line," Sohail said on his YouTube channel: @AamirSohailTheLefty.

"In Pakistan, cricket is very revered and in international cricket, Pakistan has an image. So, keeping those in mind, the players must give their all."

Sohail was full of praise for how Bangladesh played in the two-Test series, terming them as the "superior" team in terms of planning and execution.

"There is no doubt that Bangladesh have been the superior team in the series. They have read the conditions well and formed their team composition accordingly. After that, their bowlers executed the game plans superbly.

"In Test matches, a team may stumble and receive blows, but the idea is not to fall as you have the chance to come back into the game. While Pakistan fell from the blows, Bangladesh were also on the receiving end of some but did not fall in this series."

'Encouraging development for Bangladesh'

According to cricketer-turned-commentator Sohail, Bangladesh found positives in every department of the game, especially on the fast-bowling front with two young pacers leaving their mark.

"There are quite a few positives for Bangladesh in this series: they found good openers, Shadman [Islam], for example, and fielded well.

"Also, Mehedi Hasan Miraz is developing into a reliable all-rounder. Previously Shakib [Al Hasan] used to play that role, and now they have another player who lends balance, since there is no shortage of bowling options even when the team plays three pacers or an extra batsman," opined Sohail, who has represented Pakistan in 47 Tests (2823 runs) and 156 ODIs (4780 runs) from 1990-2000.

"Then you have Liton Das, who played very well. But the best news for Bangladesh cricket is the emergence of their young fast bowlers.

"Bangladesh cricket was never associated with fast bowling. They had one or two who impressed for a while, but since they did not get support from the other end, their careers took a nosedive. Now they have several options, and this is an extremely encouraging development for them.

"From having a left-armer (Shoriful Islam) to a senior fast bowler (Taskin Ahmed) in their arsenal, the two new ones have bowled brilliantly in the series: Nahid Rana was tremendous, bowling with pace and fire, whereas Hasan Mahmud showed discipline and skill, demonstrating how to trap a batter into getting a wicket.

"Bangladesh should be very pleased with the positives from the series, making them hopeful for the future and providing more confidence to the team."