Tag: Pakistan vs Bangladesh

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s Test head coach Jason Gillespie shared that the national men’s team will give their “best shot” to secure a victory over Bangladesh on the final day of the ongoing second Test here at Pindi Cricket Stadium.

Bangladesh are 42/0 in pursuit of a modest 185-run target. The touring side will have an entire day and all 10 wickets to score 143 more runs and secure their first-ever Test series victory over Pakistan.

However, Jason Gillespie, who addressed the media after an eventful fourth day of the second Test, acknowledged that Pakistan are lacking in a few areas but expressed his confidence in the players’ ability before stating that they will give their best shot to snatch victory from Bangladesh.

“We are lacking in a few areas but hopefully, we will address those issues soon. I think there’s a lot of quality in that dressing room of Pakistan, and the boys are working really well. I know they can develop into match-winners for Pakistan,” Gillespie stated.

“This Test match is evidence that our players can perform in Test cricket. I liked the conditions for this Test match, and all of them will have my back going forward. We have a game to win tomorrow, and we will try to give it our best shot,” he said.

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Jason Gillespie then went on to call for a positive mindset in the bowling department while also acknowledging that the batters need to improvise shot selection.

“We know that we can have an impact with the ball if we bowl in the right areas. If we walk out there and expect to lose, then we will definitely lose. We need to go out there with a positive attitude,” stated Gillespie.

“Our shot selection is something that we continue to talk about. We just need to make sure that our batters choose the right balls to attack,” he concluded.

It is worth mentioning here that Bangladesh lead the two-match series 1-0, courtesy of their 10-wicket victory over Pakistan in the opening fixture at the same venue.

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Pakistan Test cricketer Ahmed Shehzad expressed his disappointment over the national men’s team’s performance in the ongoing two-match home Test series against Bangladesh.

Bangladesh pacers wreaked havoc in the first session of the recently concluded Day 4 of the second Test, taking four key wickets to leave Pakistan reeling at 117-6 at Lunch.

Wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan and all-rounder Salman Ali Agha offered some resilience with their gutsy 43 and 47 knocks before the home side was booked on a modest total of 172, setting Bangladesh a 185-run target to claim their first-ever clean sweep victory over Pakistan in Tests.

Reacting to Pakistan’s collapse in the second innings, Ahmed Shehzad, in a video posted on X, formerly Twitter, slammed Pakistan for letting Bangladesh make a plethora of records in the ongoing series.

“Pakistan have made another unwanted record against Bangladesh. It seems like Bangladesh cricket team has come only to make records,” Shehzad stated.

“Pakistan bowlers did well to dismiss six Bangladesh batsmen for just 26 runs, but after that, you let a 150-run stand flourish. And this has happened for the first time in history that a team had taken 6 wickets inside 30 runs and then see a 150-run stand for the seventh wicket take the match away,” he added.

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Ahmed Shehzad lauded pacers Khurram Shahzad and Mir Hamza for their fiery opening spells against Bangladesh, which had reduced the touring side to 26/6.

“At a time it was looking that things are under your control. These youngsters (Mir Hamza and Khurram Shahzad) who had toiled hard in domestic cricket and hadn’t come from Mohenjo-Daro, had been waiting for their chances for a long time and today they got an opportunity because some senior bowler was missing and they both delivered for you. Khurram Shahzad bowled well today, hitting the weak areas of the Bangladesh batsmen, exposing their weak techniques and dismissing them,” said Shehzad.

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Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has identified the two key reasons behind the ongoing struggles of star batter Babar Azam.

Babar has been going through a rough patch, having scored 53 runs across three innings in the ongoing Test series against Bangladesh.

Salman Butt, during an interview with a local sports channel, pointed out the reasons behind the criticism of Babar.

“There are two reasons (why Babar is facing so much heat). No doubt, he is currently Pakistan’s best batter and, I think, the most consistent player of the decade,” said Salman.

“But the problem is that when a player struggled earlier, they were more out of form than Babar.

“There were 4-5 other players who used to win matches, so everyone’s respect used to be saved and it was covered.

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“Now the problem is that Babar has scored so much, then he is the only one who scores most of the runs for Pakistan. There is no one with him who can match him.”

Salman Butt further stressed the importance of Babar Azam as the most important player on the team, stating that the whole batting lineup comes under pressure when he fails.

“You can see, the day he doesn’t run, you know that the Pakistan team will not win the match,” he added.

He also highlighted the management’s flaw in not developing technically sound batters and focusing more on the power-hitting ability of the batters.

“So, this is the problem of Pakistan that you did not develop the players. You tried to develop everyone on the basis of power-hitting, the basis of playing openly. And now you don’t have players with the right techniques,” he concluded.

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RAWALPINDI: Bangladesh pacer Hasan Mahmud took two wickets to leave Pakistan struggling at Stumps on Day 3 of the second Test after the visitors were bundled for 262.

Saim Ayub remained unbeaten at six, with the scoreboard reading 9-2 as Pakistan lost opening batter Abdullah Shafique and nightwatchman Khurram Shahzad in the dying minutes of the third day.

Prior to that, Salman Ali Agha took the final two wickets, including top-scorer Litton Das, to book Bangladesh for 262.

Khurram led Pakistan’s bowling charts with figures of 6-90, while Mir Hamza and Salman bagged two each.

Litton scored a gutsy century as he singlehandedly Bangladesh’s total from 193 to 262, courtesy of a 69-run stand with Hassan Mehmud (13).

The wicketkeeper top-scored with 138 runs from 228 balls with the help of 13 boundaries and four sixes.

He was unbeaten at 83 as Bangladesh went to Tea with 193-8 on the board after dominating the second session against Pakistan.

Litton along with Mehidy Hasan Miraz helped Bangladesh recover from 26-6 as they stitched a partnership of 165 runs, scoring their individual half-centuries.

They attacked Pakistani bowlers and scored boundaries across all parts of the ground before Khurram caught and bowled Mehidy.

The all-rounder departed after scoring 78 runs from 124 balls with the help of twelve boundaries and one six. Meanwhile, Taskin Ahmed also fell to Khurram on the stroke of Tea on Day 3.

Earlier, Bangladesh openers Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan started the day with 10/0 on the board.

However, they could not add much to the total as Khurram Shahzad bowled a brilliant spell of classic pace bowling, leaving the Bangladesh batters completely bewildered.

In just the fourth over of the day, he took out Zakir with a skilful delivery on the last ball courtesy of an easy catch by Abrar Ahmed.

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On the first ball of his next over, Khurram cleaned up Shadman with an inswinger. He missed the hat trick but he castled Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto in the same over.

Mir Hamza also joined the party as he dismissed Mominul Haque in the next over.

Bangladesh veterans Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan then fell prey to Mir and Khurram respectively with the scoreboard reading 26-6.

Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz showed resistance as they knitted a gutsy 49-run stand for the seventh wicket to push the team’s total to 75-6 runs at the end of the first session without further damage.

Earlier on Day 2, Bangladesh bowlers bowled out Pakistan on 274, with Mehidy Hasan Miraz leading the pack.

Mehidy was the pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh with a five-fer, followed by Taskin Ahmed, who bagged three wickets. Nahid Rana and Shakib Al Hasan shared two wickets between them.

From Pakistan, Salman Ali Agha offered a notable fight against the momentum-filled Bangladesh bowling attack with his 54 off 95 deliveries, laced up with three fours and two sixes.

Prior to that, Pakistan found themselves in a state of bother when Taskin Ahmed cleaned up their right-handed opener Abdullah Shafique a duck with an in-dipper.

Following the early hiccup, Masood joined Ayub in the middle and launched an astounding recovery.

The pair batted sensibly against in-form Bangladesh bowlers with Masood leading the charge.

Masood scored 57 off 69 deliveries with the help of two boundaries, while Ayub played a 58-run knock which featured four fours and two sixes.

For the unversed, the opening day of the second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh was called off due to persistent rain here on Friday.

Playing XIs

Bangladesh: Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mominul Islam, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana.

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Abrar Ahmed, Mir Hamza,  Mohammad Ali, Khurram Shahzad.

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RAWALPINDI: Openers Shadman Islam and Zakir Hasan took Bangladesh to 10/0 at Stumps on Day 2 of the second Test after Mehidy Hasan Miraz-led bowling attack booked Pakistan on 274.

Pakistan had an opportunity for an early breakthrough when Shadman Islam nicked Mir Hamza’s outswinger straight to the fifth slip fielder, Saud Shakeel, who spilt it.

Bangladesh bowlers enjoyed another fruitful session as they bagged five more wickets to bowl out Pakistan on a below-par total.

Right-arm pacer Nahid Rana kept Bangladesh in control as he outclassed Mohammad Rizwan with a bouncer minutes into the third session to break the budding partnership.

Rizwan could score 19 off 63 deliveries with the help of two boundaries.

His dismissal exposed Pakistan’s batting tail with Salman Ali Agha as the specialist batter.

Agha offered a notable fight against the momentum-filled Bangladesh bowling attack and put together one-sided partnerships with Khurram Shahzad (12) and Mohammad Ali (12) and brought up his half-century in the process.

The all-rounder, in a bid to add quick runs to the team’s total, hooked Taskin Ahmed’s bumper straight to Shakib Al Hasan at fine leg region.

He remained a notable run-getter for Pakistan with his 54 off 95 deliveries, laced up with three fours and two sixes.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz then dismissed Abrar Ahmed (9) on the first delivery of the next over to bowl out Pakistan.

Miraz was the pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh with a five-fer, followed by Taskin Ahmed, who bagged three wickets. Nahid Rana and Shakib Al Hasan shared two wickets between them.

Pakistan lost four wickets in the second session of day two of the ongoing Test including set batters Shan Masood and Saim Ayub.

The pair, who recovered Pakistan from an unwanted start with a 99-run partnership, could add eight runs to their tally after Lunch as Mehidy Hasan Miraz trapped the home side captain lbw.

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Masood scored 57 off 69 deliveries with the help of two boundaries.

Ayub was quick to follow his captain as he perished five overs later to Miraz. He is thus far the top-scorer for Pakistan with a 58-run knock which featured four fours and two sixes.

Pakistan then lost another wicket in a quick interval when Saud Shakeel was chopped on by Taskin Ahmed, scoring just 16.

Coming out to bat at No.4, Babar Azam appeared to have settled down and was on course to launch another recovery for Pakistan alongside Mohammad Rizwan but he fell victim to veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan.

Babar could score 31 off 77 deliveries with the help of two boundaries.

When the Tea was called, Pakistan were 183/5 with Rizwan (18*) and Salman Ali Agha (0*) unbeaten at the crease.

Sent into bat first, Pakistan found themselves in a state of bother when Taskin Ahmed cleaned up their right-handed opener Abdullah Shafique a duck with an in-dipper.

Following the early hiccup, Masood joined Ayub in the middle and launched an astounding recovery.

The pair batted sensibly against in-form Bangladesh bowlers with Masood leading the charge.

The skipper brought up his 10th Test half-century and was unbeaten on 53 off 62 deliveries when the first session came to its closure. Ayub, on the other hand, was 43 not out.

For the unversed, the opening day of the second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh was called off due to persistent rain here on Friday.

Overnight downpours delayed the toss and after more monsoon rains, umpires abandoned play for the day shortly after midday.

“The first day’s play has been called off due to persistent rain and wet outfield,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) posted on their social media platforms. Notably, neither team left their hotels.

Playing XIs

Bangladesh: Shadman Islam, Zakir Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mominul Islam, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das (wk), Shakib Al Hasan, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Nahid Rana.

Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Abrar Ahmed, Mir Hamza,  Mohammad Ali, Khurram Shahzad.

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RAWALPINDI: The first day of the second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh has been called off due to persistent rain here on Friday.

Overnight downpours delayed the toss and after more monsoon rains, umpires abandoned play for the day shortly after midday.

“The first day’s play has been called off due to persistent rain and wet outfield,” Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) posted on their social media platforms. Notably, neither team left their hotels.

Meanwhile, the PCB unveiled the 12-member squad on Thursday which will form their Playing XI for the must-win second and final Test against Bangladesh.

Shaheen Afridi was a notable omission from the lineup along with wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed as well as uncapped batters Kamran Ghulam and Muhammad Hurraira.

Pakistan would be looking to bounce back in the second Test after suffering the first-ever defeat against Bangladesh in the opening Test of the two-match series.

Following the defeat, several strategies came under question; such as going with an all-pace attack, declaration and batting failure in the second innings.

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Pakistan, after being put into bat first, accumulated 448/6 and declared their first innings in the dying minutes of the second day.

Bangladesh, in response, piled up a mammoth total of 565, courtesy of Mushfiqur Rahim’s marathon 191-run knock, before bundling out in the third session of the fourth day.

The first Test was assumed to be heading towards a draw but Pakistan’s batting lineup faltered against Bangladesh’s spinners on the final day and could score 146, setting the visitors a meagre 30-run target.

The Bangladesh openers made no mistake in chasing down a paltry total and steered their side to a historic victory over Pakistan.

Pakistan 12-member Squad

Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha.

Bangladesh Squad

Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mahmudullah, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed and Khaled Ahmed.

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Pakistan Test cricketer Ahmed Shehzad has criticized the team management for dropping pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi from the lineup for the second Test against Bangladesh.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) unveiled the 12-member squad on Thursday which will form their Playing XI for the must-win second and final Test against Bangladesh.

Shaheen Afridi was a notable omission from the lineup along with wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed as well as uncapped batters Kamran Ghulam and Muhammad Hurraira.

The decision did not sit well with Ahmed and he shared a video on his official social media platforms, raising questions about the form of other players, who were retained in the squad.

“You lost to Zimbabwe; you lost to Ireland; you lost to the USA; you lost to India; now you lost to Bangladesh. Is Shaheen Afridi only responsible for all of this?” he asked.

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Ahmed Shehzad acknowledged the dip in Shaheen’s performance, however, he stressed that one player cannot be blamed for the team’s poor performance.

“Shaheen Afridi won’t be solely responsible for all of this. So, bring all those people who were involved in all of this. Tell this country. So, it is wrong to blame Shaheen Afridi for all of this,” he stated.

“Yes, his performances are low, his attitude is problematic, you dropped him, that’s a good thing. But what about the rest of the people involved in all of this? What about the rest of the performances?”

The 32-year-old batter also raised questions over the batting performances of Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam and Saim Ayub, who are getting consistent chances.

“What about Abdullah Shafique’s performance in the last 8 Test matches? What about Saim Ayub’s performance after 25 matches? What about Babar Azam’s performance in the last 14 Test matches? So just by barring them, there won’t be any surgery; there won’t be any Pakistan team on the right track,” he added.

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RAWALPINDI: The toss of the second Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh has been delayed due to persistent rain here on Friday.

The weather in Rawalpindi has been consistently rainy, and the forecast predicts further rain in the afternoon on the first day of the Test match.

The current downpour has left the stadium’s outfield waterlogged, while the ground staff has taken care to cover the pitch diligently.

Pakistan would be looking to bounce back in the second Test after suffering the first-ever defeat against Bangladesh in the opening Test of the two-match series.

Following the defeat, several strategies came under question; such as going with an all-pace attack, declaration and batting failure in the second innings.

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Pakistan, after being put into bat first, accumulated 448/6 and declared their first innings in the dying minutes of the second day. Bangladesh, in response, piled up a mammoth total of 565, courtesy of Mushfiqur Rahim’s marathon 191-run knock, before bundling out in the third session of the fourth day.

The first Test was assumed to be heading towards a draw but Pakistan’s batting lineup faltered against Bangladesh’s spinners on the final day and could score 146, setting the visitors a meagre 30-run target.

The Bangladesh openers made no mistake in chasing down a paltry total and steered their side to a historic victory over Pakistan.

Pakistan 12-member Squad

Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha.

Bangladesh Squad

Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mahmudullah, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed and Khaled Ahmed.

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RAWALPINDI: Pakistan red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie shed light on the decision to leave out pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi from the lineup for the second Test against Bangladesh.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) unveiled the 12-member squad on Thursday which will form their Playing XI for the must-win second and final Test against Bangladesh.

Shaheen Afridi was a notable omission from the lineup along with wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed as well as uncapped batters Kamran Ghulam and Muhammad Hurraira.

Jason Gillespie, during a press conference in Rawalpindi, revealed the reason behind the decision to exclude Shaheen, labelling it a strategic decision.

“I had a good conversation with him [Shaheen Afridi], and he fully understands and appreciates the reasoning behind this decision. We’re looking for the best combination for this game, and this is our direction,” Gillespie said.

The Australian also mentioned that Shaheen has been given feedback on his bowling and will be working on improving it.

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Additionally, the left-arm pacer will be able to take some much-needed rest and spend quality time with his family, especially since his wife recently gave birth to a baby boy.

“Shaheen has received some feedback, and he’s had an interesting couple of weeks—he’s a new father, he’s playing all three formats, and we’re seeing an opportunity to allow him to spend time with his family as well,” he added.

Jason Gillespie also recognized the importance of Shaheen as a crucial bowler for Pakistan. He emphasized the need for Shaheen to perform at his peak, especially with Pakistan’s busy cricket schedule in the coming months.

“He’s working on a few aspects of his bowling to ensure he’s as fit as possible. He’s been collaborating well with Azhar Mahmood, which has been fantastic,” Jason shared.

“We certainly want to see Shaheen at his best because we have a lot of cricket ahead in all formats, and he’s going to play a big role in that.

“Make no mistake, Shaheen is a quality player and will play a significant role in the next 6-7 months.”

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RAWALPINDI: Left-arm pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi has been dropped as Pakistan announced a 12-member squad for the second Test against Bangladesh, scheduled to be played here from 30 August.

Taking to Twitter, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) unveiled the 12-member squad which will form their Playing XI for the must-win second and final Test against Bangladesh.

Along with Shaheen, wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed as well as uncapped batters Kamran Ghulam and Muhammad Hurraira have also been released from the squad.

Notably, Shaheen Afridi had a forgettable outing in the first Test as he managed only two wickets in the first innings.

Pakistan would be looking to bounce back in the second Test after suffering the first-ever defeat against Bangladesh in the opening Test of the two-match series.

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Following the defeat, several strategies came under question; such as going with an all-pace attack, declaration and batting failure in the second innings.

Pakistan, after being put into bat first, accumulated 448/6 and declared their first innings in the dying minutes of the second day. Bangladesh, in response, piled up a mammoth total of 565, courtesy of Mushfiqur Rahim’s marathon 191-run knock, before bundling out in the third session of the fourth day.

The first Test was assumed to be heading towards a draw but Pakistan’s batting lineup faltered against Bangladesh’s spinners on the final day and could score 146, setting the visitors a meagre 30-run target.

The Bangladesh openers made no mistake in chasing down a paltry total and steered their side to a historic victory over Pakistan.

Pakistan 12-member Squad

Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha.

Bangladesh Squad

Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mahmudullah, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nazmul Hossain, Nurul Hasan, Ebadot Hossain, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed and Khaled Ahmed.

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