Pacer Nahid Rana delivered a fiery spell in the final session of the opening Test to claim career-best figures and guide Bangladesh to a 104-run victory over Pakistan, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead in the two-match series at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium yesterday.
The win marked Bangladesh’s maiden Test victory at home against Pakistan and their first win in the current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. With one win, one defeat, and a draw, Bangladesh climbed to sixth in the WTC points table, overtaking Pakistan (7th) and England (8th).
This was also Bangladesh’s third consecutive Test win against Pakistan, following their historic 2-0 series triumph in Rawalpindi in 2024. Previously, Pakistan had won 12 of the first 13 Tests between the sides, with one match ending in a draw.
Rana, who had earlier struggled for rhythm in the five-day contest, bounced back with a brilliant second spell in Pakistan’s second innings, taking four of the last five wickets to trigger a dramatic collapse. Pakistan lost their final five wickets for just 11 runs, getting bowled out for 163 while chasing 268.
Rana finished with 5-40, his second five-wicket haul in Tests, becoming the first Bangladeshi pacer to claim a fifer in the fourth innings. He was supported by Taskin Ahmed (2-40), while spinners Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz shared the remaining three wickets.
Despite an early dismissal of Imam-ul-Haq, Pakistan regrouped through debutant Abdullah Fazal (66 off 113), scoring his second half-century of the match. Even after slipping to 121 for five in the 33rd over, Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan added 31 runs for the sixth wicket, taking the score to 152 for five by the 45th over.
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto reintroduced Rana, a move that proved decisive. Rana provided the breakthrough that the Tigers desperately needed by having Shakeel (15 off 32) edge one back to the keeper with the third ball of his spell. He then produced one of the most spectacular inswingers, deceiving Rizwan (15 off 46), who shouldered arms only to watch his stumps being uprooted.
Taijul, who had earlier removed Fazal, joined the party by dismissing Hasan Ali for one in the next over before Rana tarpped Noman Ali lbw for four, leaving Bangladesh just a wicket away from a famous victory.
Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Abbas resisted briefly, but Rana ended the contest by inducing Afridi to lob a catch to Mominul Haque at short leg, sealing victory with 23.1 overs still remaining.
Earlier, Bangladesh declared their second innings at 240 for nine, setting Pakistan a target of 268 with 76 overs still possible in the day.
Resuming Day 5 at 152 for three, Bangladesh lost wickets at regular intervals but added 88 runs in 20 overs before declaring.
Captain Shanto led from the front, scoring 87 off 150 balls after his first-innings century. He narrowly missed a rare milestone when the left-hander was trapped lbw by Noman while attempting a reverse sweep. Had he reached 100, he would have joined Ricky Ponting, Sunil Gavaskar, and David Warner as the only players to score centuries in both innings of a Test three times.
The second and final Test will be held at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium from May 16.
