It's not everyday that you see a "lesser" cricketing nation outplay a "bigger" nation. That's why when it does occur, it's a true sight to behold. It's an accomplishment that others can draw inspiration from. The latest example is the recently concluded Test series between Bangladesh and Pakistan; where the former completed a 2-0 series sweep.
According to ESPNCrickinfo, this series win was Bangladesh's third away win. The previous two were a 2-0 win in West Indies in 2009 and a one-off Test victory in Zimbabwe in 2021.
Pakistan has set an unwanted record. They have now gone ten consecutive Test matches at home without a win. This has happened only once before to Pakistan, when they went 11 home Tests without a win between 1969 and 1975.
Only two other teams have had longer winless streaks at home in the last 25 years: Zimbabwe haven't won any of their 14 home Tests since 2013; while Bangladesh were winless in 27 Tests at home between 2005 and 2014 and also didn't win any of their first 15 home Tests between 2000 and 2004.
There was one previous instance of Pakistan losing all matches in a home Test series; when England won 3-0 in December 2022.
There have been four Instances of Pakistan losing a Test at home despite taking a first-innings lead batting first, including the second Rawalpindi Test against Bangladesh where they took a 12-run lead. The previous time this happened was in 2000, when they lost to England in Karachi despite a 17-run lead in the first innings.
Shan Masood's Test captaincy hasn't started off well. Pakistan have lost all five Test matches under Shan Masood's captaincy so far - the worst start for a Pakistan captain. Masood is one of eight captains to lose their first five Tests. Four of the previous seven were from Bangladesh - Khaled Mashud (12); Khaled Mahmud (9); Mohammad Ashraful (8) and Naimur Rahman (5), while Zimbabwe's Graeme Cremer (6); New Zealand's Ken Rutherford (5) and West Indies' Kraigg Brathwaite (5) are the other three.
Along with these unwanted records, there were disappointments when it came to the Pakistan team.
Former captain, Babar Azam, was poor with the bat. Over four innings in the two Tests, he scored a total of 64 runs. This led to a paltry average of 16. Over the series, he scored: 0; 22; 31 annd 11.
It's been a while since Babar Azam has been successful with the bat. Since 2023, his runs total has added up to 317. This spans eight matches for a an average of 21.13. His best score is 41. His last century came against New Zealand, in Karachi, in December of 2022.
As mentioned above, one of the disappointments was Shan Masood. Aside from the captaincy, this includes his performances. He wasn't creative and he allowed his team to lose to an opposition that was, at one point, 26-6.
He definitely didn't lead from the front with the bat. Across four innings, he scored 105 runs, at an average of 26.25. His scores were: 6; 14; 57 & 28. His average of 28.53 after 35 Tests is unacceptable.
Pakistan opener, Abdullah Shafique, was abysmal during the series. He didn't lay a solid foundation for the middle and lower-order batsmen. He averaged 10.50. He was sent packing with single figure scores 75% of the time at the crease.
An obvious disappointment was that of Shaheen Shah Afridi. He only took part in the first Test before being dropped for the second. In the first, he only took two wickets, an an average of 48. He bowled 30 overs in Bangladesh's first innings and took 2-88. There was a debate in regard to his omission from the second Test. The fact remains though, he hasn't been in the right frame of mind for bowling for a while.
Another bowler who didn't shine was Mohammad Ali. In three innings, he took two wickets at an average of 72.50. He took 2-88 in the first Test but went wicketless in the second Test. In the second Test, his combined figures were 0-57 in 24 overs.
Pakistan legends, Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq, launched ruthless attacks on Babar Azam, Shan Masood and other players after the embarrassing home Test series defeat of the team against Bangladesh.
The Shan Masood-led side faced a 10-wicket loss against Najmul Hossain Shanto-led side in the first Test before facing a 6-wicket defeat in the second game at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. This was the first time that Pakistan lost a Test series against Bangladesh.
Also, this was just the second time that Pakistan faced a whitewash on home soil in Test cricket history and they have looked extremely awful in their last four home Test series.
The shocking home series defeat has raised several questions over the Pakistan National Cricket Team's future. The newly-appointed Test head coach, Jason Gillespie, has come under extreme pressure. Also, the poor performances of Shan Masood and Co. have led to the players receiving heavy criticism from former players, experts and fans.
Javed Miandad, however, didn't put the entire blame on the players and held the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) responsible for the team's downfall.
"I wouldn't just blame the players because whatever has happened in the board (PCB) in the last one and half years and the captaincy and management changes have affected the team," Javed Miandad added.
Pakistan great and former captain, Inzamam-ul-Haq, meanwhile, stated that the back-to-back home series defeats are concerning for Pakistan and the batters need to step up and deliver good performances.
"Home series were always considered our best chance of beating the best sides in the past. But for this to happen the batsmen need to get runs," he said.
Younis Khan, the only Pakistan batsman to breach the 10 000 runs mark in Test cricket, also blamed the batters for the defeat against the Bangla Tigers and opined that they need mental strengthening to overcome the poor form.
"Our batters have got runs in the past, but right now, I think they need mental strengthening and a clear mind to overcome this crisis," he said.
Former spinner, Iqbal Qasim, took a different approach and he lashed out at the Pakistan bowlers. He stated that the current crop of Pakistan pacers doesn't have the quality that the likes of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis had. Hence, Pakistan need to develop match-winning spinners to win home Tests.
"We don't have bowlers of the calibre of Sarfaraz Nawaz, Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar or Shoaib [Akhter] now. So, we should be banking on our spinners to win us Tests at home."
Renowned Indian cricket analyst and commentator, Harsha Bhogle, has expressed his dismay over Pakistan's shocking Test series defeat to Bangladesh, terming it as, "embarrassing."
Bhogle, who has often analysed Pakistan's strengths and vulnerabilities, reiterated his previous assessment that Pakistan is more formidable in shorter formats, while their weaknesses are exposed in longer formats like Test cricket. However, even he didn't anticipate such a comprehensive defeat against Bangladesh.
"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," Bhogle posted on X.
He added, "But I didn't expect it to be this stark. Well as Bangladesh played, this is embarrassing for Pakistan."
Hats off to Bangladesh. They did something remarkable. They scored big runs and took wickets at key points. This is epitomised by a Man of the Match (of the second Test) performance by Liton Das, who scored 138 and Player of the Series, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who scored 155 runs and took 10 wickets. If they didn't do these things, there would be a chance that this series wouldn't have gone in their favour. It was a all round team performance that led to this result.