Shan Masood admitted Pakistan lacked game awareness in the fourth innings as crucial wickets at key moments led to a crushing 104-run defeat to Bangladesh national cricket team in the opening Test of the two-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
“Look, I think we were in a good position at tea. But after tea, we lost some wickets and in terms of game sense, I thought that’s where a few of the batsmen could have realized that we were still some distance away from the target and it was better to keep ourselves in the game,” Masood told reporters after the match.
“I thought we just lost wickets at the wrong time and could have made better cricketing decisions.”
Chasing 268 in a possible 76 overs, Pakistan’s innings swung back and forth before collapsing dramatically late in the day.
After losing Imam-ul-Haq early, Pakistan recovered through debutant Abdullah Fazal, who registered his second half-century of the match.
Although Pakistan slipped to 121 for five in the 33rd over, Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan attempted to steady the innings with a 31-run partnership for the sixth wicket, taking the score to 152 for five in the 45th over.
From there, however, the innings unravelled against Bangladesh’s relentless bowling attack, particularly Nahid Rana, who claimed four of the last five wickets. Pakistan lost their remaining five wickets for just 11 runs to be bowled out for 163, suffering their first-ever Test defeat to Bangladesh in Bangladesh in nine meetings.
Before the Mirpur Test, Bangladesh had lost seven of their eight home Tests against Pakistan, with the only draw coming in Khulna in 2015. The victory also marked Bangladesh’s third consecutive Test win over Pakistan, having swept the visitors 2-0 in Rawalpindi in 2024 to secure their maiden Test series triumph against them.
Masood also credited Bangladesh’s fast bowlers for their outstanding display, with Nahid claiming a five-wicket haul while Taskin Ahmed finished with figures of 2-40. He also praised the role played by the spinners.
“Look, I think Nahid’s quality is obviously there and he bowled well according to his plans. But for us, it’s disappointing because I thought at that stage, if the two set batsmen could have batted a bit longer, maybe we could have taken the game towards a draw,” he said.
Reflecting on the pitch, Masood described it as an ideal Test wicket that offered assistance to both batters and bowlers.
“Cricket changes, especially with the World Test Championship. You look at your strengths, the opposition, and then decide how to approach conditions. I thought it was a very good Test wicket — it had something for everyone.
“I thought the spinners created pressure for the fast bowlers to take wickets. In our first innings, when we lost seven wickets to spin, I thought the pace attack had actually bowled well too. The spinners, while containing runs, were able to pick up wickets as well. It was a good Test wicket — it had everything for batting and bowling,” he added.
