Babar Azam took his maiden international wicket after more than six years and 189 international appearances. Azam got the crucial wicket of Mehidy Hasan which paved the way for his bowlers to mop up the tail quickly to beat Bangladesh in the second Test by an innings and eight runs.
Azam bowled his first international over on Day 4 of the second Test towards the ending stages of third session. However, it was on Day 5 when the part-time off-spinner rolled his arm again in order to break the seventh-wicket partnership between Mehidy and Shakib Al Hasan. In his first over of the innings, Azam trapped Mehidy in front of the stumps as the latter attempted a sweep shot.
Azam had to introduce himself on both occasions because pacers could not operate due to fading light. The move worked for Pakistan the second time as they got the major breakthrough. Shakib and Mehidy shared a 51-run partnership. Mehidy scored 14 runs from 70 deliveries and at one point it looked like the Test will end in a draw.
Lower order collapse
Shakib followed Mehidy back to the dressing room soon. The southpaw got bowled by Pakistan’s sensational off-spinner Sajid Khan who took eight wickets in the first innings. The veteran top-scored for the hosts with 63 runs off130 deliveries. The off-spinner also got rid of tailenders Khaled Ahmed and Taijul Islam just in time to help Pakistan whitewash Bangladesh in their own backyard.
Hosts’ poor batting display
Earlier in the day, Sajid’s eight-wicket haul helped in bundling Bangladesh for a score of 87. Only two Bangladesh batters crossed the double digits. The only other Pakistan bowler to take a wicket in Bangladesh’s first innings was Shaheen Afridi whereas one batter got run out.
Bangladesh’s second innings also got off to a disappointing start. After Azam asked them to follow-on, they were reduced to 25/4 in just 8.1 overs. Mushfiqur Rahim and Liton Das tried to steady the ship but both got out in their 40s and missed their respective half-centuries. In the second innings, Sajid got four wickets whereas Shaheen and Hasan Ali got two wickets each followed by captain’s crucial breakthrough.
Pakistan dominate throughout
Pakistan ended their tour of Bangladesh unbeaten. First, they whitewashed Bangladesh in the three-T20I series. They registered a convincing win in first Test by eight wickets. In the second Test, they needed just three days of play (190 overs) in a rain-interrupted Test to get the result in their favour.
Babar lauds Sajid, groundstaff
“I felt that I needed to bowl at that stage and really happy I got that wicket (Mehidy). Our batsmen and especially openers gave us good start and our mindset was just to dominate despite the bad weather and Sajid's spell gave us momentum and confidence to win this game. Credit to groundstaff, they have done a really great job with all the rain around in the last few days. This series win gives us a lot of confidence and some crucial WTC points,” the 27-year-old said in the post-match presentation.
