Bangladesh Undermined Against Pakistan by Poor Selection and Worse Luck

At the start of their second Test at home to Pakistan, Bangladesh would have been confident of continuing the good form that saw them secure a draw in the opening game.

However, at the end of day one, with the visitors on 323 for three, the hosts would be left cursing some poor luck and some bad selection decisions.

Going into the game, captain Mushfiqur Rahim was dealt a blow as seam bowler Rubel Hossain had to be replaced in the team because of injury.

Given a relative paucity of resources in the seam bowling department and a green pitch in Mirpur, Bangladesh selected just two front-line fast bowlers.

Those two—Mohammad Shahid and Shahadat Hossain—would be relied upon to do a great deal of work on the first day on a pitch offering little turn and with Pakistan batting first.

Unfortunately, a wrench was thrown into that plan inside the first over as Shahadat stumbled in his delivery stride and had to leave the field after just two balls.

It meant the new ball would have to be shared by Shahid and just one other player capable of bowling seam—the 22-year-old Soumya Sarkar.

A.M. Ahad/Associated Press

That meant the spinners would be required to do a great deal of bowling on a flat and unresponsive pitch against a strong Pakistan batting attack.

In the end, Bangladesh used a total of nine bowlers, with only wicketkeeper Rahim and opener Tamim Iqbal not being asked to turn their arms over.

Shahid did well given the enormous responsibility that has now been thrust onto him in just his second Test, as he finished with two for 43 from his 21 overs on the first day.

However, the rest of the attack had very little to work with, while they did not help themselves as they twice bowled no balls with batsmen dismissed.

With Azhar Ali on 18, Shahid got him to edge a ball to third slip where he was caught, but the bowler was called for overstepping.

Then, Khan had a reprieve of his own as Sarkar induced him to lob up a catch to the fielder at short cover, only to be frustrated by a call of no ball.

By the end of the day, Rahim seemed powerless to prevent Pakistan from upping their run rate, with neither his seamers or spinners able to extract anything from an ageing ball.

Instead, he turned to part-time bowlers like Imrul Kayes, Shuvagata Hom and Mominul Haque for the remainder of the day, with little option beyond his tired front-liners.

It meant that Bangladesh finished the first day with their opponents well on top and little hope for respite, especially with Shahadat out for six months with a twisted knee, as reported by ESPN Cricinfo.

They will battle hard and look to recover, but this game already looks like an uphill struggle for the home side.