Bangladesh clean sweep Pakistan to send strong message ahead of India tour

Bangladesh clean sweep Pakistan to send strong message ahead of India tour (X/TheRealPCB)

Bangladesh produced another commanding display and defeated Pakistan by six wickets in the second Test in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. The win helped Bangladesh complete a clean sweep over the Asian giants in the two-match contest, also marking their first Test series win against them. The Najmul Hossain Shanto-led unit had defeated Pakistan by 10 wickets in the first Test, which was played at the same venue. The win was Bangladesh's first against Pakistan in 14 matches. Prior to this Bangladesh had won just one Test series away from home, which was against West Indies back in 2009.

Chasing a modest 185, the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led unit wrapped the proceedings in the second session of Day 5 after significant chunk of play was lost due to rain the previous day. Bangladesh's most experienced pair Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan dragged the team home as they returned unbeaten on 22 and 21 respectively.

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Bangladesh had resumed the day on 42/0, still 143 runs away from the historic victory. Mir Hamza provided Pakistan with an early breakthrough by cleaning Zakir Hasan for 40(39). Khurram Shahzad, another pacer, brought some respite in Pakistan camp by packing Shadman Islam for 24(51), which reduced the tourists to 70/2. However, a gritty show by skipper Shanto and Mominul Haque steadied the Bangladesh innings as the pair added 57 runs for the third wicket. Shanto was the third batter to be dismissed after he was caught by Shafique off Agha Salman's bowling. Abrar Ahmed then got rid of left-handed Mominul for 34(71) but with a long tail still alive the contest was pretty much in the hands of Bangladesh. Shakib along with Mushfiqur then completed the proceedings, helping Bangladesh script one of the biggest upsets of the year.

Bangladesh next travel to India for a two-match red ball series, which will be followed by three T20Is. If we look at the stats, Bangladesh spinners, in particular Mehidy Hasan Miraz displayed solid form. He scalped a total of 10 wickets in both the matches combined, which included one five-wicket haul. With the first Test against India scheduled to be played at Chepauk, a track well known for assisting the spinners, the Bangladesh tweakers will eye for another eye catching performance.