‘The pitch didn't play the way we thought it would’ - Shan Masood after embarrassing 10-wicket defeat against Bangladesh

Pakistan suffered an embarrassing 10-wicket defeat against Bangladesh in the first Test of the series at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The opening day of the Test was marred with rain and keeping that in mind, Pakistan decided to declare early. The Shan Masood-led side declared on 448/6 with the hope of restricting Bangladesh to a much lower total.

That didn’t go according to the plan. The visitors were sensational with the bat in the first innings as the Najmul Hossain Shanto-led side managed to take a lead of 117 runs. Mushfiqur Rahim played a vital knock of 191 runs while opener Shadman Islam made 93 runs. Mominul Islam, Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz hit half-centuries each and that put Pakistan on the back foot.

They still had the opportunity to finish the game on level terms but interestingly, Bangladesh bundled them for 146 runs in the first innings. The wicket started assisting spinners on the final day of the match, which put the hosts in trouble as barring Mohammad Rizwan, none of them would stand the wrath of Bangladesh bowlers. The visitors had to chase only 30 runs and they did it quite comfortably.

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After the game, Shan Masood acknowledged that they failed to read the pitch and that the team expected more from the pacers throughout the game. However, that didn’t happen and the surface changed drastically leading to their defeat.

“Never to make an excuse, it (the pitch) didn't play the way we thought it would. Also, the weather it had been around in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, it rained around 8-9 days before the first day of play. Firstly looking at the pitch, we expected it to do a bit more. With three pace bowlers, they were gonna be pushed to the limit. At the end of the day, we got it wrong. Hindsight, looking at the declaration, we wanted to push the game forward. Also with the ball and in the field, we could have done better to keep them at par,” Masood said in the post-match presentation.

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Pakistan have the chance to bounce back in the second and final Test of the series, which is slated to begin on August 30.