Bangladesh won a test match against Pakistan at home for the first time. Image Credit: AFP
BAN vs PAK 1st Test: Bangladesh continue to have the wood against Pakistan in the longest format. The Bangla Tigers won the opening test of the series with the Shan Masood-led side facing yet another embarrassment against the Asian nation. It was for the first time that Bangladesh national cricket team won a test match against the men in green, or in this case, the men in white, at home. It took only 52.5 overs on a day five pitch in Dhaka for the hosts to bowl out Pakistan national cricket team. Nahid Rana was once again the horn in Pakistan’s back as the pacer picked up a five-wicket haul in the fourth innings.
Bangladesh’s skipper, Najmul Hossain Shanto, had a great game with the bat in hand and in the field in each of the four innings. He scored a century and played a knock of 87 runs in the third innings.
Bangladesh defeated Pakistan in test cricket for the first time at home. It was only in 2024, when the Bangla Tigers recorded not just their first win against Pakistan in the longest format but also won the two-match series away from home. With Pakistan coming in with some new faces, it was expected that the Shan Masood-led side would show a fight. Their star pacer, Shaheen Afridi, fell flat picking up five wickets across the two innings in his 47 overs.
Najmul Hossain Shanto led from the front with the bat in hand. He scored a century in the first innings while Mominul Haque (91) and Mushfiqur Rahim (71) made useful contributions as Bangladesh put up 413 runs on the board. Azan Awais, making his debut for Pakistan, scored a century in the second innings. However, Mehidy Hasan Miraz picked up a fifer as Bangladesh took a lead of 27 runs.
In the third innings, it was once again Najmul Shanto who was the star performer with the bat in hand. He scored 87 runs, while Mominul, with 56, once again made a useful contribution. Pakistan was set a target of 267 runs in around 70 overs to chase on the final day. Abdullah Fazal, the second debutant for Pakistan, scored 66 runs, but the rest of the batters failed massively. Salman Agha, with 26, was the second-highest scorer in the innings as Nahid Rana proved to be unplayable for the visitors. In his 9.5 overs, Rana picked up a stellar five-wicket haul, dismissing Shan Masood, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Noman Ali, and Shaheen Afridi for the final wicket.
Pakistan’s star batter, Babar Azam, was ruled out of this clash with an injury. Coming into this game on the back of a successful PSL 2026 run, not having Babar proved to be a huge miss for the visitors. He was replaced by Abdullah Fazal in the lineup, who scored a fifty. However, Saud Shakeel, who scored only 15 runs in the fourth innings after being dismissed on a duck in the second innings, could make way for the former skipper if he fully recovers ahead of the second test.
With this win, Bangladesh overtook Pakistan on the World Test Championship points table. The Bangla Tigers recorded their first win of this cycle after losing and drawing one game each. For Pakistan, this was their second loss in three games this cycle. Bangladesh is placed sixth on the standings with a points captured percentage (PCT) of 44.44, while Pakistan is seventh with a PCT of 33.33.
Pragun is a passionate cricket follower and writer who deeply loves the game. Having completed his education with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he has an experience of almost two years in diverse fields. He is known for his statistical and analytical articles. Pragun tries to bring life to his articles by adding a layer of enthusiasm from the perspective of a hardcore fan. Apart from writing cricket articles, he sometimes appears on YouTube videos on a friend’s podcast.
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