How can Pakistan recover from Bangladesh drubbing in the 1st Test
Pakistan continued their horrific run of form across formats over the past year with a shocking loss in the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. Amidst all the turmoil off the field with several personnel changes, Pakistan have been desperate for a turnaround in results.
Yet, their fortunes continue worsening with the most recent Bangladesh result almost mirroring the loss to the USA in the 2024 T20 World Cup as far as reaching rock bottom is concerned. What's more worrisome is that Bangladesh was a side Pakistan dominated in Tests, winning 12 out of 13 with a draw before their first-ever defeat to the Asian rivals.
With this being only a two-match series, Pakistan are on the brink of an embarrassing home Test series defeat to a Bangladesh team that rarely wins matches away from home. It also saw them slip to second-to-bottom in the latest World Test Championship (WTC) table.
Despite all the above woes, Pakistan must believe they have a path to bounce back and finish on level terms with a win in the second Test at the same venue, starting August 30.
As the management and skipper Shan Masood plot the same, here are a few things they can do to recover from the stunning first Test loss to Bangladesh.
#1 Must go for a well-rounded bowling attack
The conversation from former players, fans, and even the captain after the first Test defeat has been around Pakistan's bowling attack for the encounter. The hosts misread the conditions and overweighed workload management to go with an all-pace attack for only the second time at home in 28 years.
While skipper Shan Masood defended the decision after the game, the proof was in the pudding as he contradicted the selection during the first Test. Part-time spinners Agha Salman, Saim Ayub, and Saud Shakeel bowled 50 of the 168 overs, a clear indication of the selection error on Pakistan's part.
What made matters worse was Bangladesh's spinners, Mehidy Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan, combining for seven of the 10 second innings wickets to bowl Pakistan out for 146.
The last time the two teams met in a Test before the Rawalpindi outing, off-spinner Sajid Khan wrecked Bangladesh's lineup with 12 wickets. Despite initially selecting leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed in the squad, Pakistan surprisingly excluded him in the 11th hour.
They must bring him right back into the 11 for the second Test, especially with his impressive bowling numbers at home. Abrar has picked up 28 wickets in four home Tests with two five-wicket hauls and a 10-wicket match haul.
With the second Test set to be played at the same venue, the pitch should only be more conducive to spin and Pakistan must ensure they have a well-balanced pace-spin attack to level the series.
#2 Dismiss the first Test as a series of anomalies coming together
While Pakistan made several glaring mistakes in the first Test that they should certainly address, the outcome could also be dismissed as a one-off anomaly. They dominated the first two days and could have easily batted longer to make Bangladesh winning an improbability.
Yet, at 448/6 with Mohammad Rizwan on 171 and Shaheen Afridi on 29, Pakistan made a bold declaration to maximize the possibility of a result. The hosts then had Bangladesh reeling at 213/5 before a back-to-back 114 and 196-run partnership for the sixth and seventh wicket.
While the Bangladesh batters involved in those stands, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das, and Mehidy Hasan deserve credit for their defiance, what are the odds of such an occurrence based on Bangladesh's Test history?
Pakistan then recorded their lowest Test total against Bangladesh with a paltry 146 in their second innings. The latter overcame their past demons to win a first-ever Test against Pakistan in 14 attempts.
It needed all these unique occurrences and some for Pakistan to lose to Bangladesh in a Test match. The odds of a repeat? Pakistan would like to think 'unlikely'.
#3 An in-form Babar Azam could be the start of Pakistan's rejuvenation
Cricket can often boil down to the star player in a team masking other flaws and winning matches. And for Pakistan, they need to look no further than ace batter Babar Azam to help them get out of this rut.
The 29-year-old looked out of sorts in both innings of the opening Test and finished with 22 total runs. Babar's recent Test form has been abysmal with his average hovering around 21 in the last seven matches since the start of 2023.
He has been massive for Pakistan over the years with an average of almost 57 in their Test wins and only 33.21 in losses. Narrowing Babar's impact further against Bangladesh, he averaged 81 in his first three Tests against them and Pakistan impressively won them all.
At a time when Pakistan cricket desperately needs a turnaround, Babar scoring big runs again could be just the tonic needed for a renaissance, and what better way to do it than in a series-leveling second Test against Bangladesh?