Bangladesh won the opening Test match in Rawalpindi by 10 wickets on Sunday, August 25, drawing harsh criticism for Pakistani players and administration. After Shan Masood and company became the first Pakistani side to lose to Bangladesh in the game’s longest format, former captain Salman Butt took a hard line at them.
Abrar Ahmed, Pakistan’s front-line spinner, was benched and the team started the game with four seamers. But as Bangladeshi spinners caused mayhem, particularly in the second innings, the move backfired. The pitch’s characteristics were questioned by Pakistan’s assistant coach Azhar Mahmood, who claimed that it didn’t play as they had hoped.
However, Salman Butt claimed that Pakistan was outplayed in every facet of the match and added that Bangladesh’s pacers were faster than their own.
“Where do I even begin? Everything went wrong: the declaration, the line, the length, the playing of four quick bowlers. I believe that this is the first occasion in which Bangladeshi bowlers’ average speed has exceeded ours. We didn’t seem as fit as they did. Compared to our senior fast bowlers, our juniors performed better. Thus, a list of the team’s errors exists. Where do we begin? The list continues on, so who should we pick and assign responsibility to,” Butt posted on his YouTube account.
On Day 5, Pakistan lost nine wickets in two sessions. Butt stated that despite the home team’s lacklustre batting performance on the last day of the match, the character of the pitch shouldn’t be questioned.
“The problem was not pitch. The bowling was of that calibre. According to our bowling coach, the pitch didn’t work out as planned. Additionally, bowlers reported that the pitch was subpar. Does that make sense? particularly after Pakistan was dismissed for only two sessions. Before the spinners took over in the middle, their pacers claimed the wickets of our top order batsmen. Thus, this is a lengthy list of incompetence and poor management,” Butt said.
Pakistan have never before lost a Test match at home by ten wickets. In the second Test, which begins on Friday, August 30, in Rawalpindi, they will have to start over from scratch and improve.
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