Veteran Indian cricket commentator and analyst Harsha Bhogle has criticised Pakistan following their embarrassing defeat in the Test series against Bangladesh at home. Bhogle highlighted Pakistan's ongoing struggles in the longer format of the game. Bangladesh achieved a historic 2-0 Test series whitewash against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Tuesday, September 3. They secured a ten-wicket victory in the first Test and followed it up with a six-wicket win in the second Test. This series marked Bangladesh's first-ever Test match win against Pakistan, who previously held a dominant 12-0 record against them.
The visiting team, Bangladesh, achieved a remarkable turnaround in Test cricket by defeating Pakistan in their recent series. Pakistan's poor performance has faced criticism from cricket experts.
Harsha Bhogle criticises Pakistan Test series defeat against Bangladesh
Harsha Bhogle expressed his disappointment on X, formerly Twitter, regarding Pakistan's Test series defeat, calling it ‘embarrassing’. Bhogle added that he had previously warned about Pakistan's struggles in Test cricket but did not anticipate the situation to be so severe.
"I remember saying some time ago that the shorter the game, the more dangerous Pakistan would be, and, almost as consequence, that the longer the game, the more vulnerable they would be. But I didn't expect it to be this stark. Well as Bangladesh played, this is embarrassing for Pakistan," Bhogle wrote.
The second Test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh was played on Day 2 due to rain on Day 1. Pakistan scored 274 runs in their first innings before being bowled out. Bangladesh's batting collapsed early, losing six wickets for only 26 runs. However, Litton Das's impressive century helped them recover, and they conceded a 12-run lead to Pakistan. In the second innings, Bangladesh bowled out Pakistan for 172 runs, with Hasan Mahmud taking five wickets. Bangladesh then successfully chased down the target of 185 runs with six wickets remaining. Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim remained unbeaten, guiding Bangladesh to victory.
Harsha Bhogle described Bangladesh's series win over Pakistan as their most significant Test series victory. He also emphasized Bangladesh's past achievements, such as their 2007 World Cup win against India.
"In all fairness, Bangladesh have had quite a few moments to be proud of. None more so than beating India in the 2007 WC. How fitting then, that the two kids from that day, Shakib and Mushfiq, now in the middle as veterans, see their team through to their biggest test series win," Bhogle post read.
Bangladesh will embark on a tour of India for a multi-format series. The series will commence with the first Test match in Chennai on September 19.
Since 2000, India has maintained a clean sweep in all five-Test series against Bangladesh. Bangladesh's last Test series in India was in 2019, where they suffered a 2-0 defeat.
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