Bangladesh’s cricket history has had its share of golden moments. The 1997 ICC Trophy event held in Kuala Lumpurwas definitely one such event. With one required to usurp Kenya in the final, Khaled Mashud, the Bangladesh wicketkeeper, scampered across for a legbye and didn’t even look back as he went on a celebratory run around the ground.
Ten years later, Bangladesh stunned a star-studded and experienced Indian side in the 2007 World Cup held in the West Indies. Bangladesh’s amazing victory over the mighty Australians in Cardiff, in 2005, would also come into the equation. Mohammed Ashraful had compiled a game-breaking hundred in that game. In this decade, Bangladesh also registered a memorable triumph at the Bay Oval, their maiden victory over New Zealand in a Test match.
The latest achievement to join that list is Bangladesh taking down Pakistan in Rawalpindi. The victory also turned out to be Bangladesh’s first-ever Test win over Pakistan. It is true that Pakistan are struggling in the longest format, not having won a single Test at home in the last three years. However, for Bangladesh to travel across to Pakistan and defeat the home side, on their own patch, is a considerable achievement for the cricket-mad nation. What makes this victory even more special is the fact that for large parts of the game, a draw seemed to be the most likely result.
For starters, Bangladesh had to surpass Pakistan’s first-innings score of 448. Not just that, they also had to get a healthy first-innings lead in order to put some pressure on the hosts. Mushfiqur Rahim led the way with a quintessential gritty hand of 191. A few others chipped in with fifties as Bangladesh made a good fist of their initial task by gaining a sizeable lead of 117.
The bigger question still remained unanswered. Could Bangladesh take 10 wickets in the second innings? The answer turned out to be an emphatic yes, with Bangladesh bundling out Pakistan in just over 50 overs. The spin duo of Mehidy Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan did most of the damage by taking seven wickets between them, but the larger picture to emerge out of Bangladesh’s win was the pace trio of Hasan Mahmud, Shoriful Islam and Nahid Rana also chipping in with wickets.
Nahid, in particular, impressed everyone with his genuine pace. It is quite evident that Bangladesh now have good enough stocks in the pace department. In fact, looking at Bangladesh’s bowling resources, it won’t be a surprise if they go on to break a few more barriers away from home in Test cricket.
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That is in brief about the present and future of Bangladesh in the longest format. For a moment, let’s also take a jog down the memory lane to Multan, 2003. In that Test, Bangladesh had come very close to pipping Pakistan, only to lose by a single wicket. All you remember is Khaled Mahmud, the Bangladesh skipper, wiping his tears with a handkerchief as Inzamam-ul-Haq’s nerveless unbeaten hundred helped Pakistan eke out a thrilling victory.
At one point, Pakistan were 164 for 7 in a chase of 262. But a dropped catch or two, Mohammad Rafique deciding not to run out Umar Gul, the non-striker, for backing up too much, and Inzamam’s blinding brilliance snuffed out their hopes.
Bangladesh’s comprehensive victory in Rawalpindi would act as some kind of a soothing balm for those 11 players who took part in the Multan Test. As Mahmud told Daily Sun: “Definitely the pain of the Multan Test is erased to some extent.” The splendid performance would also bring some happiness to a nation that has struggled through enough strife in the recent past.
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