The stark divergence between Pakistan and Bangladesh was laid bare this past Sunday (August 25) following the conclusion of Pakistan’s first Test match against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, part of a two-Test series. After an excellent performance with the bat that saw the visitors put up 565 runs in answer to Pakistan’s hefty 446, Bangladesh’s bowlers wiped out the home team’s batting lineup for 146 runs in the second innings, setting themselves up for an easy victory. Standout performers included star batsmen Mushfiqur Rehman, who fell nine runs short of a double century (191 runs) in Bangladesh’s first innings and all-rounder Mehidy Hasan Miraz who, after putting up a respectable 77 runs with the bat, led Bangladesh’s bowling attack with four wickets for a mere 21 runs.
This is the first time Bangladesh have won a test match against Pakistan in their 24-year Test cricket history. Many if not most Pakistanis alive today would have never imagined losing a Test series on home soil to Bangladesh, but that is now a very likely possibility. Pakistan’s failings were the familiar ones: a failure to excel with both bat and ball, to play consistently across the course of the match, to make the most of playing conditions despite having home-turf advantage, underestimating the opposition, planning well, and star performers and leaders just not showing up. Babar Azam, undoubtedly one of the best talents this country has produced, appears to have fallen into the same rut as many of his illustrious predecessors. A period of great performances brings stardom which, instead of being sustained, is followed up by mediocrity. He was dismissed for zero in Pakistan’s first innings and 22 in the second. Captain Shan Masood fared even worse, putting up a total of 20 runs across both innings and evidently failing to provide the kind of leadership the team desperately needed. Pakistan’s bowlers were once again tasked with doing the impossible (bowling out Bangladesh for less than 30 runs in the final innings). However, they were not blameless in this defeat. Bangladesh’s spinners clearly found some life in a pitch that was dismissed as ‘docile’, something the bowlers from Pakistan could not match.
That being said, the Pakistan cricket team fails in the same way far too frequently for too much blame to be put on individuals. In the aftermath of this historic loss, fingers are rightly being pointed at the PCB. Pakistanis are increasingly fed up with these humiliations and the players and sports bureaucrats delivering them – and even the game itself. Many will ask why so much is lavished on cricket when we have athletes like Arshad Nadeem breaking Olympic records. However, there is more to it than that. Bangladesh’s players witnessed historic upheaval before landing in Pakistan but the professionalism of their performance did not betray a hint of this. Meanwhile, everything in the host country, from sports to the internet and even simply getting to work on time, appears to be hostage to the palace intrigues going on at the top. Regardless of political events, we need institutions that will take it forward regardless of who is in charge. Those setting new milestones will never have much to do with those stuck at square one, at least not on equal footing.
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