Pakistan ended their month-long disastrous tour with a face-saving win when they crushed Bangladesh by 328 runs in the second Test with a day in hand in Dhaka on Saturday. The Tigers, chasing an improbable target of 550 and resuming on 63-1, collapsed in a quick span of time to be dismissed for 221 runs in ... Read more
second test
Mushfiq refuses to take blame alone
Bangladesh skipper Mushfiqur Rahim refused to take the blame alone for opting to field after winning the toss in the second Test match against Pakistan that ended in 328-run defeat at Mirpur on Saturday. The decision backfired as Pakistani batsmen made the host bowlers toil for nearly two days on a track that had nothing much ... Read more
Tigers’ defensive mindset surprises Waqar
Pakistan coach Waqar Younis said that he was surprised to see Bangladesh playing defensive cricket in the series deciding second Test that ended at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Saturday. Pakistan defeated Tigers by 328 runs to clinch the series that helped tourists regain some composure at the end of month-long tour where they were defeated ... Read more
Tigers face uphill task
Bangladesh were facing an uphill task to save or win the second Test against Pakistan after they were set a record 550-run target on the third day in Dhaka on Friday. The Tigers have already lost the wicket of opener Imrul Kayes and need to survive two days with nine wickets in hand if they are ... Read more
Tigers hoping against hope
To do a miracle once is one thing and to be asked to repeat it in little over a week is a completely different thing. Bangladesh cricket team is now facing the same demand after Pakistan pushed them to the corner in second Test in Dhaka on Friday. The Tigers are only hoping against the hope ... Read more
Pakistan not taking win for granted
Pakistan are not taking victory for granted despite putting Tigers on the back foot in the series deciding second Test, said their bowling consultant Mushtaq Ahmed on Friday. Tigers were given the task of scoring the record 550 runs in their second innings and Pakistan bolstered their chances by reducing them to 63-1 in 14 overs ... Read more
Mirpur awaits a final thriller
Before the second Test in Dhaka, Mushfiqur Rahim and Misbah-ul Haq agreed on at least two points in their pre-match briefing at Mirpur on Tuesday. Firstly, the wicket at the Sher-e-Bangla has something for the bowlers unlike the first Test in Khulna, which had yielded 1515 runs in five days. So, a result in favour of ... Read more
From safety to defeat
Pakistan win Test series 2-0 An unlikely resistance came from Mushfiqur Rahim and Nasir Hossain on the fifth and final day but their efforts were not good enough for Bangladesh to save the second Test against Pakistan and sign off the year on a bright note yesterday. Pakistan made a clean sweep by winning all ... Read more
Mushfiq takes the blame
The tendency to take risks in a stable position has hurt the Tigers once more though skipper Mushfiqur Rahim owned up to his error in judgment after the seven-wicket defeat to Pakistan in the second Test. “Of course I will take the blame. If I didn’t get out, we could have batted 30 minutes more. ... Read more
Misbah was waiting for new ball
Pakistan were waiting for the new ball that they never needed to break the resistance of Nasir Hossain and Mushfiqur Rahim, said skipper Misbah-ul Haq after a seven-wicket victory over Bangladesh in the second Test on Wednesday. Nasir and Mushfiq denied Pakistan any wicket on the fifth morning and threatened to kill
Pakistan on top despite Sakib’s heroics
Sakib al Hasan became the first Bangladeshi to hit a century and take five wickets in an innings in the same Test but his efforts look like being in a losing cause after Pakistan seized control of the second Test. All-rounder Sakib followed his first-innings 144 with the bat by snapping up six for 82 ... Read more
Fifth-time lucky Sakib
It was almost inevitable in some stages of Sakib al Hasan’s career. He created at least four opportunities in the past, came close on two occasions and missed it agonisingly. But anyone with the slightest idea of his capability as an all-rounder knew Sakib would get a five-for in an innings and a century in ... Read more
It’s just not part of game
In cricket, the common phrase is that catches win matches but Bangladesh provided an example in the ongoing second Test of how catches can also cost a side a match too. The joy of the home side of taking all 10 Pakistani wickets was short-lived as they lost five wickets for 114 runs in the ... Read more
Pakistan had full faith in bowlers
Pakistan had little doubt that bowlers could take them to an winning position if they could get a sizeable total with the bat, all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez said after fourth day’s play in the second Test on Tuesday. Two wickets each from Umar Gul and Aizaz Cheema ripped the heart out of Bangladesh’s batting order as ... Read more
Tigers let Pakistan off the hook
Bangladesh paid the price for poor fielding by allowing Pakistan to claw their way back in the second Test as the visitors closed in on a first innings lead reaching 292-3 on the third day on Monday. Taufiq Umar made the most of Bangladesh’s sloppy fielding to score his seventh Test century which took Pakistan ... Read more
Win still an option for Pakistan
Pakistan opener Taufiq Umar did not rule out the chance of a win in the second Test match against Bangladesh after his seventh Test century brought them close to a first innings lead on Monday. The left-hander scored 130 from 256 balls to help Pakistan reach 292-3 at the end of fog-shortened third day in ... Read more
Nazmul can’t wait for another seven years
Bangladesh paceman Nazmul Hossain said it would be too much of a pain for him if he is needed another seven years to play a Test again after he was made to wait that long by the selectors for his second Test. Nazmul was by far the best among the three pace bowlers Bangladesh picked ... Read more
Shakib brings respectability
Shakib Al Hasan helped Bangladesh expand upon their strong base during the second day’s play of the second Test against Pakistan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday. The day ended with Pakistan on 87-1 after bad light stopped play. In all, 26 overs were lost on the day after the morning session began ... Read more
The sign of a complete all-rounder
Sakib al Hasan proudly announced himself as a complete all-rounder after his 144 runs in the first innings that guided Bangladesh to a respectable 338 against Pakistan on Sunday. Sakib had started his career as a batsman who could bowl but gradually turned into Bangladesh’s main strike bowler with his left-arm spin that often turned ... Read more
Sakib, Shahriar lift Tigers
Sakib al Hasan and Shahriar Nafees defied a chilly weather and a strong Pakistani attack to lift Bangladesh to a respectable 234-5 with a record 180-run partnership on the opening day of second Test in Dhaka on Saturday. Sakib got his second Test century along the way to stay 108 not out while Nafees missed ... Read more