Bangladesh made an unforgettable comeback from the depths of 26/6 on the third morning of 2nd Test in Rawalpindi to mitigate the loss inflicted by Pakistan’s fast bowlers. Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz performed a miraculous rescue act, as they shared 165 runs for the seventh wicket, which only made them lose by 12 runs to Pakistan’s first innings score of 274-all out.
Litton scored a wonderful century –138 off 228 and Mehidy managed a decent 78 off 124, with Bangladesh being bowled out for 262 in 78.4 overs and coming back into contention in the series-decider while keeping their dreams alive for an unprecedented Test series victory within Pakistan’s borders.
Shehzad Ahmed, the cricketer from Pakistan has criticized the team for poor performance as they allowed Bangladesh another good comeback.
“Seems like Bangladesh has come here to set records,” said Shehzad during his YouTube station. “The bowlers got them down 26/6 and then you went on to give away 165 runs for the seventh wicket.”
In addition, Shehzad also shot at the recent statement made by PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi that there are no enough quality players in our domestic cricket who can fill the shoes of underperforming international stars.
The talent in Pakistan’s domestic cricket is exemplified by the fast bowlers Khurram Shahzad and Mir Hamza. Six wickets were taken by Shahzad while Hamza bagged two in Bangladesh’s opening innings.
“During one time, our boys seemed to have control over everything (Pakistan). It has been said that we have no surgical tools for domestic cricket. These children did not come from Mohenjo-Daro but from our localities. They were waiting for their opportunity and they received it today because of any senior bowler in the squad,” Shehzad stated.
He went on to say that Khurram Shehzad had targeted their weaknesses and exposed their style of playing. Mir Hamza also lent good support. In summary, this marks a relatively good start.
Shehzad said Pakistan cricket team captain Shan Masood was not proactive enough and just changed bowlers so that the partnership between Litton and Mehidy could establish itself.
And what followed is consistent with what Pakistan does best. Loss of collective effort can be seen in patches; it is then that they benefit from the poor patches of their opponents. However, they need to be proactive by making changes and being ruthless in difficult times. Because when you are playing at home field, never allow your opponents to come back into the game when they are under pressure,” he said.
“Not disrespecting Bangladesh batsmen, but were our body language down during that partnership. Generally it seemed that everyone was tired and had never played Test cricket before. Even in the last match they were fined. No positive captaincy was evident, discipline on absence. Their tailenders managed to score Runs easily in your hands. In other words, Pakistan had a chance to draw a level but they regretted it later on. The rain is predicted for the coming days then you will say you were unfortunate,” he continued.
According to Shehzad, under the current circumstance there is little chance of winning for Pakistan. “From this situation it looks like winning out for Pakistan is very tough anymore. However, they have to do something remarkable or otherwise Bangladesh would be too bad for them to win this match now,” he said.