Persistent rain could not stop Pakistan whose bowling attack needed only two days of sunshine to defeat Bangladesh in the second Test by an innings and eight runs on Wednesday afternoon and winning the two-match series 2-0.
Off-spinner Sajid Khan was again the wrecker-in-chief in the second innings by claiming four wickets as the home team was dismissed for 205 runs. He had Taijul Islam lbw to seal the victory. As soon as the field umpire raised his finger on a vicious appeal by Pakistan team, the batsman on the other end referred to the third umpire who upheld the decision.
Sajid bagged 12 wickets in the match conceding 126 runs. He has become first Pakistani spinner to claim 12 wickets. He was adjudged the man of the match. Shaheen Afridi and Hassan Ali captured two wickets each with skipper Babar Azam unexpectedly claiming a scalp. Pakistan also set a record by claiming 13 wickets on day five in a Test in Bangladesh.
After following on, Bangladesh top order could not withstand Pakistani pace duo of Shaheen and Hassan. However, the middle order put up a stiff resistance in a bid to avoid imminent defeat. Mushfiqur Rahim 48, Liton Das 45, and Shakib Al Hasan 63 stabilised the innings but after their departure the whole team crumbled.
Earlier, after the chaos of the first session came the relative calm of the second. A game that barely saw four full sessions of play in the first four days had appeared on the brink of producing a result at lunch. Bangladesh, though, fought their way back until Mushfiqur Rahim was run out after a baffling error of judgment on the stroke of tea to put Pakistan back on top once more, just four wickets away from triumph.
After Bangladesh lost seven wickets in the day’s first 14.1 overs across two innings, Liton and Mushfiqur dug in. They saw off what was left off the new ball, and looked to score against Sajid, adamant not to repeat the mistakes of the first innings. They continued in very much the same way post-lunch, stretching the partnership to 73 before Sajid – who else? – provided the breakthrough as Liton pulled him straight to Fawad Alam at square leg.
For once, the wicket didn’t open the floodgates, with Shakib partnering with Mushfiqur for a handy partnership of 49. All of that was overshadowed, though, by a decision to come through for a high-risk single minutes before the tea break. Mushfiqur put in a dive, but his bat had popped up before grounding behind the line, and after lengthy deliberations, the third umpire sent him on his way.
A sensational bowling performance by Sajid last night was topped up by three early wickets for Pakistan – eight in the innings for Sajid – to bowl Bangladesh out for 87. That meant, with a lead of 213, Pakistan could enforce the follow-on, and the visitors weren’t done yet. Much as Pakistan have done almost all tour, they ripped through the top order, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Hasan Ali sending the top four back to the pavilion in under nine overs.
Bangladesh began the day needing 25 to avoid the follow-on. But Sajid hadn’t finished his first over before he had his first wicket of the day, trapping Taijul Islam in front. With Dhaka bright and sunny after a few grey days, Afridi was allowed to operate from the other end, and took just two deliveries to uproot Khaled Ahmed’s stumps, who was forced on strike after a mix-up with Shakib Al Hasan off the over’s first ball. Shakib, for his part, tried to shield No. 11 Ebadot Hossain while looking to be reasonably positive in a bid to cross the follow-on mark. The approach wasn’t without its risks, and he ended up spooning one to Azhar Ali at short cover.
With the home side now suddenly needing to bat a full day to salvage a draw, they required something conspicuously absent all series – a contribution from their top order. It wasn’t to come, though. Debutant Mahmudul Hasan Joy was done for by a trademark Hasan dismissal to right-hand batters, drawing Joy on the front foot before the ball shaped back in, sneaking through the gap between bat and pad to knock back the stumps. The other opener, Shadman Islam, was trapped in front by Afridi, who had set him up with away-swingers before bringing one in that clattered into his pads.
