Another Banglawash: Pakistan slump to new low despite Rizwan’s fightback in Sylhet Test
Brief scores: Bangladesh (278, 390) beat Pakistan (232 and 358 – all out) by 78 runs on Day 5 in Sylhet. 2nd Test Scorecard | Highlighting
History has a cruel habit of repeating itself, but it has started to feel like an endless loop of humiliation for Pakistan cricket. Two years after being subjected to an unprecedented domestic whitewash at the hands of Bangladesh, the humiliation on foreign soil was complete. On a humid Wednesday morning at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, the last wickets crumbled to seal a comprehensive 78-run victory for the hosts and seal another historic “Banglawash” with a 2-0 series sweep.
Chasing a mammoth, record target of 437, Pakistan’s fourth-innings resistance ended at 358. On paper, scoring over 350 in the final innings of the subcontinental Test is commendable performance captain Shan Masood held on to in vain in the post-match ceremony. But in reality it was a veneer of respectability masking a familiar structural collapse. The final morning began with an agonizing, rain-delayed wait, but once the wet spots dried and play began, Bangladesh needed less than an hour to dismantle the remaining resistance.
All Pakistan’s hopes rested squarely on the shoulders of Mohammad Rizwan. He followed up his overnight score of 75 to take Pakistan to 316 for seven, playing wicketkeeper-batsman with the courage of a man fully aware that he was standing on a burning deck. Soon, he navigated a probing, unfriendly short-ball spell from Taskin Ahmed and survived an awkward inside edge that narrowly missed his stumps.
Rizwan and Sajid Khan started scoring freely, adding 46 runs to the overnight score and reducing the equation to less than 100 runs. However, left-arm spinner Taijul Islam made the breakthrough, removing Sajid in the 96th over to complete the five-wicket haul.
The definitive, heartbreaking moment for the visitors came when Rizwan, mounting a lone crusade after Sajid’s departure, fell just six runs short of a deserved century. He nudged a delivery that was tipped over by Shoriful Islam and was caught at slip.
His dismissal for 94 dashed Pakistan’s slim hopes of survival. Taijul ended with a sensational six-wicket haul, running the tail and setting off ecstatic celebrations on the Sylhet ground.
‘Lots of ERRORS’
In retrospect, the dissection of Pakistan’s defeat points squarely at the first two days of the Test. After Shan Masood won the toss and elected to play first on a pitch expected to aid the seamers, the bowlers had Bangladesh reeling at 118 for six. It was a position from which the top Test side routinely slammed the door. Instead, they allowed Litton Das to write a modern epic. Litton’s counter-attack of 126 rescued the hosts and took them to a highly competitive first innings total of 278.
Pakistan’s subsequent first innings reply of 232 was an exercise in batting fragility. Apart from a technically assured 68 from the returning Babar Azam and a late, entertaining cameo of 38 from Sajid Khan, the middle order was thoroughly suffocated by Nahid Rana and Taijul Islam.
Giving up a crucial lead of 46 runs meant that Pakistan were always chasing the match. Bangladesh were merciless in their second innings and piled up a massive 390. Opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy laid the foundation with an aggressively pitched 52 before the evergreen Mushfiqur Rahim compiled a masterful 137.
Mushfiqur’s century, which earned him the Player of the Series award, systematically knocked Pakistan out of the contest and pushed the required target into the realm of the impossible.
Despite fighting half-centuries from Masood (71), Salman Ali Agha (71) and Rizwan’s brave 94 in the closing innings, the mountain proved too steep to climb.
“Lots of mistakes,” admitted a dejected Shan Masood after the match.
“When you make 360 runs in the fourth innings of a game, you kind of expect to be on the right side of the game. But especially when it was 116 for 6 in the first innings, the last four wickets ended up scoring a lot.”
For Bangladesh’s Najmul Hossain Shanto, the 2-0 triumph marks a watershed moment – their first ever Test series victory over Pakistan on home soil, helping them move to fifth place in the ICC World Test Championship cycle.
However, the post-match post-mortem will be cruel for Pakistan. Losing a Test after posting 358 in the fourth innings is rare, but back-to-back series losses to the same opposition in two years point to a deeper, systemic rot that Rizwan’s struggling knock could only temporarily hide.
Pakistan are rooted to the eighth spot in the ongoing WTC cycle with just one win from four Test matches so far. Shan Masood’s men will next play a two-Test series in the West Indies in July-August before heading to England for a three-match series.
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Issued by:
Akshay Ramesh
Published on:
May 20, 2026 12:06 PM IST