DHAKA: Pakistan captain Shan Masood lamented his side’s “lack of game awareness” after Bangladesh scripted a dramatic 104-run victory in the opening Test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium on Tuesday, sealing their first-ever home Test win over Pakistan and continuing a growing dominance in the format between the two sides.

“After tea, we lost a few wickets and, in terms of game awareness, some of the batsmen could have realised that we were still some distance away from the target,” Shan said after Pakistan’s stunning collapse on the final day. “It was important to keep ourselves in the game, but we lost wickets at the wrong time. We could have made better cricketing decisions.”

Those errors proved decisive as Bangladesh, inspired by a hostile spell from fast bowler Nahid Rana, ripped through Pakistan’s batting in the final session to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

Set 268 to win in a Test shortened by rain interruptions over the previous two days, Pakistan appeared well placed at 119-3 before collapsing to 163 all out. Debutant Abdullah Fazal fought valiantly with 66, but once his resistance ended shortly after tea, Bangladesh surged to victory in front of a jubilant Mirpur crowd.

The win was Bangladesh’s third Test victory over Pakistan overall and their third successive success against them after sweeping the 2024 series 2-0. More significantly, it was their first against Pakistan on home soil.

Nahid was the chief architect of the turnaround. Bowling with sharp pace and reverse swing, the 23-year-old produced career-best figures of 5-40, including a devastating late spell of four wickets for 10 runs in 4.5 overs.

Pakistan had entered the final session with seven wickets in hand and hopes of at least salvaging a draw, if not pushing for victory. But Bangladesh’s bowlers maintained relentless pressure after tea, with Taskin Ahmed setting the tone through an aggressive burst before Nahid blew the innings apart.

Abdullah, playing his first Test, had earlier counter-attacked confidently. After opener Imam-ul-Haq fell for two to Taskin before lunch, Abdullah responded positively, driving and cutting with assurance against both pace and spin.

He and first-innings centurion Azan Awais briefly steadied the chase, but Bangladesh struck back immediately after the interval when Mehidy Hasan Miraz bowled Awais for 15 with one that straightened and crashed into the stumps.

Nahid then removed Shan for two, leaving Pakistan wobbling at 68-3.

Abdullah and Salman Ali Agha revived the chase with a 51-run partnership that carried Pakistan to relative safety by tea. Abdullah completed a composed half-century with an upper cut off Ebadot Hossain, becoming only the sixth Pakistan batter to score fifties in both innings of a debut Test.

But Bangladesh’s bowlers returned after the break with renewed intensity.

Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam made the breakthrough when he trapped Abdullah lbw on the back foot with a sharply turning delivery. Abdullah reviewed the decision, but replays confirmed the ball would have crashed into the stumps, ending his innings of 66 from 113 balls with 11 fours.

Soon afterwards, Taskin had Salman caught at second slip for 26, with Shadman Islam holding onto a painful chance at chest height.

From there, Nahid took over.

First he had Saud Shakeel caught behind. Then came the delivery of the match — a 147kph sharply inswinging length ball that Mohammad Rizwan fatally misjudged while attempting to leave, only to watch it crash into the stumps and leave Pakistan stunned.

Nahid trapped Noman Ali lbw and finally bounced out Shaheen Shah Afridi to complete a famous win, with Bangladesh players sprinting across the field in celebration.

Shan admitted Pakistan had failed to capitalise on key moments throughout the contest.

“In the first innings, with bat and ball, we needed to do better,” he said. “When you have the game in your hands you have to push the opposition away, but we failed to do that.”

He, however, resisted singling out individuals for blame.

“I will never play the blame game,” Shan said. “My constant effort is to identify what we are doing well as a Test team, what we can improve and what more we need to do to become a strong Test side.”

The Pakistan captain acknowledged Nahid’s influence, especially against the lower order.

“Against the lower order, you always want express pace as a bowling unit. Rana bowled very well and executed his plans perfectly,” he noted.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh had shown positive intent by declaring their second innings on 240-9 after adding 88 quick runs in the morning session.

Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto followed his first-innings century with a fluent 87, while Mominul Haque contributed 56.

Bangladesh had begun the final day on 152-3 with an overall lead of 179. Although they lost wickets regularly, Shanto’s proactive declaration signalled their determination to force a result on a wearing pitch despite the time lost to rain.

“I think the biggest thing in this Test match was the declaration,” Shanto said. “This is something our team has never quite done before in this way. It gives us confidence that it is possible to win a match from a position like this.”

The Bangladesh skipper, who was named player of the match for scores of 101 and 87, said the dressing room maintained an attacking mindset throughout.

“Not for a single moment did we think we might lose the match or that we wanted a draw,” he said. “We had that aggressive mindset and we tried to win.”

Shanto also reserved special praise for his fast bowlers, particularly Taskin and Nahid, whose spells transformed the game after tea.

“We know how special Rana is and how hard he bowls,” he said. “He is slowly developing his skills and I enjoyed seeing how the opposition reacted to that pace.”

Bangladesh’s first-innings total of 413, built around Shanto’s century, had earlier given them control of the match before Pakistan replied with 386. Mehidy’s five-wicket haul ensured the hosts carried a slender lead into the second innings.

The second and final Test begins in Sylhet on Saturday.

SCOREBOARD

BANGLADESH (1st Innings) 413 (Najmul Hossain 101; Mohammad Abbas 5-92)

PAKISTAN (1st Innings) 386 (Azan Awais 103; Mehidy Hasan 5-102)

BANGLADESH (2nd Innings, overnight 52-3):

Mahmudul Hasan lbw b Abbas5

Shadman Islam c Saud b Hasan10

Mominul Haque c Rizwan b Shaheen56

Najmul Hossain lbw b Noman87

Mushfiqur Rahim c Shan b Hasan22

Litton Das c Hasan b Shaheen11

Mehidy Hasan c Salman b Noman24

Taijul Islam b Noman3

Taskin Ahmed c Imam b Hasan11

Ebadot Hossain not out4

EXTRAS (LB-5, NB-1, W-1)7

TOTAL (for nine wkts decl, 70.3 overs)240

DID NOT BAT: Nahid Rana

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-15 (Mahmudul), 2-23 (Shadman), 3-128 (Mominul), 4-164 (Mushfiqur), 5-190 (Litton), 6-216 (Najmul), 7-225 (Mehidy), 8-232 (Taijul), 9-240 (Taskin)

BOWLING: Shaheen 16-2-54-2, Abbas 14-3-35-1 (1w, 1nb), Hasan 17.3-2-52-3, Salman 5-0-18-0, Noman 18-1-76-3

PAKISTAN (2nd Innings):

Azan Awais b Mehidy15

Imam-ul-Haq c Litton b Taskin2

Abdullah Fazal lbw b Taijul66

Shan Masood c Litton b Nahid2

Salman Ali Agha c Shadman b Taskin26

Saud Shakeel c Litton b Nahid15

Mohammad Rizwan b Nahid15

Noman Ali lbw b Nahid4

Hasan Ali lbw b Taijul1

Shaheen Shah Afridi c Mahmudul b Nahid0

Mohammad Abbas not out5

EXTRAS (B-5, NB-2, W-5)12

TOTAL (all out, 52.5 overs)163

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-3 (Imam), 2-57 (Azan), 3-68 (Shan), 4-119 (Abdullah), 5-121 (Salman), 6-152 (Saud), 7-153 (Rizwan), 8-154 (Hasan), 9-158 (Noman)

BOWLING: Taskin 10-1-40-2 (1w, 2nb), Mehidy 17-3-47-1, Nahid 9.5-2-40-5, Ebadot 2-0-9-0, Taijul 14-3-22-2

RESULT: Bangladesh won by 104 runs.

MAN OF THE MATCH: Najmul Hossain

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2026