Bangladesh vs. Pakistan: Winners and Losers from 1st Test
A maiden Test double-hundred from opener Tamim Iqbal helped Bangladesh come out of the first Test against Pakistan with a more-than-creditable draw.
Batsmen on both sides prospered in what was an extremely high-scoring encounter in Khulna. The bowlers are much less likely to be thanking the groundsman for serving up an extremely flat surface.
Mohammad Hafeez was the pick of the performers for a Pakistan side that couldn't capitalise on a promising early position.
Here are the winners and losers from the first Test.
Winner: Bangladesh
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The first Test ended with honours even, but the hosts will be by far the happier of the two sides.
Faced with a mammoth first-innings deficit of 296, Bangladesh sides of the past could have easily crumbled.
Instead they came out swinging. Mushfiqur Rahim's side battled superbly thanks to a record 312-run stand from openers Tamim Iqbal and Imrul Kayes.
Such an impressive fightback augurs well for the second Test in Mirpur.
Loser: The Bowlers
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A total of 1,515 runs scored for the loss of just 25 wickets tells its own story. Pity the poor bowlers forced to try to get anything from such a dead pitch.
There was little help for either the seamers or spinners to work with on a desperately slow surface.
With just four days to go until the start of the second Test in Mirpur, there's little time to recharge weary bodies and minds. Pakistan's bowlers in particular will be hoping that skipper Misbah-ul-Haq wins the toss on Wednesday. They'll be hoping to put their feet up for a little longer after their marathon second-innings effort in Khulna.
Winner: Taijul Islam (Bangladesh)
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Taijul Islam was the only bowler to enjoy any real success in Khulna. The 23-year-old may only have six Test caps to his name, but he's already proving to be a canny operator in the five-day game.
The left-arm spinner was the pick of the Bangladeshi bowlers during Pakistan's mammoth first-innings total of 628.
His haul of six for 163 was his third five-wicket innings since making his Test debut against the West Indies in September 2014. He has now taken 31 wickets at an average of 27.12.
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Loser: The Crowd
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Compared to the recent one-day series, the first Test in Khulna was a sparsely attended affair. Little wonder given that the game was played on a surface that gave so little hope to the bowlers.
Matches dominated by the bat are bad for the future of the Test game. Even the most devoted lovers of the five-day-format game will be tempted by the pyrotechnics on offer in the Indian Premier League if they're served such one-sided fare.
In an Independent interview with Brian Viner in 2010, retired England cricketer Steve Harmison described such barren surfaces as “chief executive's pitches." The coffers in Khulna will hardly have been bolstered though given the paucity of spectators.
Administrators around the world take note: Put some pace in the pitches.
Winner: Mohammad Hafeez (Pakistan)
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After a disappointing return to the international ranks in the one-day series, Mohammad Hafeez showed his worth in this Test.
The 34-year-old's Test form has been pretty spectacular of late. His most recent visits to the middle in the five-day game have resulted in innings of 96, 101 not out, 24, 197 and a career-best 224 this week.
He was back in the wickets too after being cleared to bowl by the ICC, picking up four scalps in the match.
Loser: Mushfiqur Rahim (Bangladesh)
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Mushfiqur Rahim was no doubt delighted at the way his side fought back so strongly. The captain's personal match was a largely disappointing one.
The 26-year-old was forced to hand over the wicket-keeping gloves to Imrul Kayes for much of the Pakistan innings after spraining his right ring finger.
Well enough to bat in Bangladesh's second innings, the skipper was dismissed for fifth-ball duck while the rest of his colleagues were filling their boots.
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