Dhaka, May 12 (IANS) Bangladesh scripted another memorable chapter in their recent resurgence against Pakistan as pace sensation Nahid Rana produced a match-winning spell of fast bowling to seal a dramatic 104-run victory in the first Test at Mirpur on Tuesday.

Before 2024, Bangladesh had never beaten Pakistan in a Test match. Now, they have achieved three consecutive victories against their Asian rivals. This latest win also marks their first home Test victory over Pakistan. Rana ended with impressive figures of 5 for 40, helping the hosts dismiss Pakistan for 163 while defending a target of 268 during the final session on day five.

The match was tense as it entered the final session. Pakistan still needed 152 runs with seven wickets in hand, and all three results remained possible. Much of Pakistan’s resistance came from debutant Abdullah Fazal, who batted maturely under pressure.

Fazal’s steady 66, along with a critical 48-run partnership with Salman Ali Agha for the fourth wicket, kept Pakistan’s hopes alive on a challenging surface that had uneven bounce and sharp turn. With bad light approaching and Bangladesh struggling for wickets, even a draw seemed attainable for Pakistan at one point.

However, Bangladesh made a crucial breakthrough just after tea. Veteran spinner Taijul Islam delivered when a sharply turning ball trapped Fazal in front. Although umpire Richard Kettleborough initially rejected the appeal, Bangladesh successfully reviewed it, as ball-tracking showed three reds.

Pakistan’s innings quickly fell apart after they lost their established batter. In the next over, Taskin Ahmed dismissed Salman Ali Agha, who edged a wide delivery to the fielders placed in the slips.

Nahid Rana then returned to the attack and transformed the match with a fantastic spell of fast bowling. After being expensive earlier in the innings, Rana regained his rhythm at a critical moment.

He first got an edge from Saud Shakeel with a delivery that straightened outside off stump. Then he bowled a stunning nip-backer that Mohammad Rizwan completely misjudged while shouldering arms, leading to his stumps being shattered.

Taijul then trapped Hasan Ali lbw before Rana finished off the innings in style. He removed Noman Ali following another successful review and had Shaheen Afridi caught, sealing a famous win for Bangladesh.

Earlier in the day, Bangladesh strengthened their position thanks to captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, whose fluent 87 guided the team to a competitive second-innings total after they added 88 important runs in the morning.

Pakistan’s chase started poorly when Imam-ul-Haq edged Taskin Ahmed to the slips before lunch. Fazal then launched an impressive counter-attack in the afternoon session, striking boundaries against both Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Rana. He became only the sixth Pakistani batter to score fifties in both innings on Test debut.

Despite the debutant’s bravery, Bangladesh’s bowlers, led by Nahid Rana’s speed and Taijul’s accuracy, proved too strong in the end. The hosts secured a memorable victory and took a 1-0 lead in the series.

Brief scores:

Bangladesh 413 & 240/9 decl (Najmul Hossain Shanto 87, Mominul Haque 56; Hasan Ali 3-52) beat Pakistan 386 & 163 (Abdullah Fazal 66; Nahid Rana 5-40) by 104 runs.

–IANS

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