Bangladesh Defeats Pakistan by 104 Runs in Rain-Affected First Test

Dhaka. With the help of spectacular five wickets from fast bowler Nahid Rana, Bangladesh defeated Pakistan by 104 runs in the rain-affected first Test match. 

Bangladesh achieved historic success on the fifth day of the match in Dhaka on Tuesday after a dramatic collapse in batting. Pakistan, chasing a victory target of 268 runs, was in a strong position of 119-3 at one point but was all out for 163 in the final session. Despite a gritty innings of 66 runs from debutant Abdullah Fazal, he could not lead the team to victory. With this win, Bangladesh has taken a 1-0 lead in the two-match series. 

This is Bangladesh's first Test win against Pakistan on home soil and third overall. Fazal, 23, had raised Pakistan's hopes with a 51-run partnership with Salman Agha, but 23-year-old Nahid Rana destroyed Pakistan's innings by taking 5 wickets for 40 runs. 

Rana, using his pace and reverse swing, took 4 wickets for just 10 runs in the final 4.5 over spell, turning the game dramatically. After the victory, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said, 'We have worked hard for the last few months and are gradually improving in Test cricket, this is a matter of great happiness and pride.' 

With this win, Shanto has equaled Mushfiqur Rahim's record of 7 Test wins in just 17 matches as captain. 

On the final day of the match, Bangladesh resumed playing from 152-3 and declared their second innings at 240-9. Captain Shanto contributed 87 runs in the second innings and scored a century of 101 runs in the first innings. 

In Pakistan's second innings, Taskin Ahmed dismissed Imam-ul-Haq for 2 runs and Mehidy Hasan Miraz dismissed Azan Awais for 15 runs. Nahid Rana sent Pakistani captain Shan Masood back to the pavilion for just 2 runs. Later, although Fazal and Agha resisted for the fourth wicket, Rana ensured Bangladesh's victory by catching Saud Shakeel and bowling Mohammad Rizwan with a 147 km/h inswinging yorker. 

Pakistan captain Masood admitted that he needed to perform better in both batting and bowling in the first innings. Bangladesh scored 413 runs in the first innings, while Pakistan scored 386 runs, narrowly missing a slight lead. 

After this historic Test, the second match will start from Saturday in Sylhet.