Pakistan cricket touched a new low after becoming only the second team in Test history to lose three consecutive matches against Bangladesh. Before Pakistan, Zimbabwe were the only side to suffer three straight Test defeats to Bangladesh, a statistic that underlines the dramatic decline of what was once one of Asia’s most feared teams. Pakistan’s latest setback came at Mirpur on Tuesday (May 12), where they collapsed spectacularly in the final session of the opening Test. Chasing a manageable target of 268 in 75 overs, Pakistan looked comfortably placed at 116/3 at tea. However, the innings unravelled completely under pressure as they were bowled out for just 163, handing Bangladesh a commanding 104-run victory.
How Pakistan’s chase fell apart
For the first Test, Bangladesh moved away from their usual spin-friendly surfaces and prepared a green-top pitch that offered assistance to the pacers. The hosts posted 413 in the first innings before restricting Pakistan to 386, taking a narrow 27-run lead. In their second innings, Bangladesh showed clear intent for a result. Despite entering the final day, they continued batting aggressively and declared at 240/9, setting Pakistan a target of 268 in tricky conditions.
Pakistan’s Flop show
Pakistan’s chase got off to the worst possible start when Imam-ul-Haq departed for just 2 in the opening over. By lunch, the visitors had crawled to 6/1.The second session, though, brought stability. Abdullah Fazal and Salman Agha steadied the innings with positive strokeplay as Pakistan added 110 runs while losing only two wickets. At tea, they were firmly in the contest at 116/3, with Fazal unbeaten on 66 and Agha on 21.
But everything changed immediately after the break. Fazal fell in the very first over of the final session, and Agha followed soon after. In the span of a few deliveries, Pakistan crashed from 116/3 to 121/5 and the pressure shifted completely in Bangladesh’s favour.
Shan Masood admit the Loss
Pakistan captain Shan Masood admitted the team lost control of the chase after tea despite being in a strong position earlier in the day. Reflecting on the collapse, Masood said Pakistan needed to show better awareness of the match situation instead of throwing wickets away under pressure.
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“We were well placed at tea, but things changed quickly afterwards. Losing wickets in that phase hurt us badly. Some of the batsmen needed to understand that the target was still some distance away and the priority should have been to stay in the game for longer. Unfortunately, we lost wickets at crucial moments and could have handled the situation with much better cricketing judgement,” Masood said after the defeat.
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