Rawalpindi, Aug 25: Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hasan Shanto on Sunday described his team’s first-ever Test win over Pakistan as a “special one” in the given circumstances the country is going through.
“It was a very important win for us because last month we had a difficult situation in Bangladesh. There are still some problems there but in Bangladesh we support each other and I am happy this win gives them a little bit of a smile on their faces,” he said at the post-match conference after the 10-wicket win.
“We are happy with our performance and we just want to give more joy to our people in the second match as well. It was a special victory for us especially given how we adjusted to the hot conditions and pitch here,” Shanto added.
Shanto said they were confident of winning the match coming into the final day as the pitch was becoming difficult and his team had some experienced spinners and good seamers.
“I think Shakib and Miraz bowled very well today given the conditions and we knew that with a 90-run advantage Pakistan would be under pressure on the final day,” he said.
Shanto said the key to the win was the strong batting display in the first innings.
“Mushfiq bhai played an outstanding innings but overall I think everyone contributed and it was a big team effort. I am happy that all the hard work we put into preparing for this series we have now ticked all the boxes in this match,” he said.
The Bangladesh team reached Pakistan a few days earlier for the series because of the uncertain situation back home.
Asked by a journalist about what senior pro Shakib was going through in the team because of his problems back home, Shanto said what the all-rounder was facing were his personal issues but as a senior team member he is always contributing.
Pak skipper Masood defends controversial selection call
Pakistan captain Shan Masood on Sunday defended the decision to select four pace bowlers and no specialist spinner for the first Test.
Masood, who failed with the bat in both innings, refused to admit that it was a bad call to go in without a specialist spinner even after Shakib ul Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz shared seven wickets on the final day to bowl out Pakistan for just 146 runs.
“We had anticipated the pitch to offer more assistance to the seamers. Looking at the pitch, we expected it to do more,” he said at the post match conference.
“If we played 3 fast bowlers, we would be pushing them to the limit and the spinner would be bowling 25-30 overs a day, which we wanted to avoid.
“We thought that with the weather, it may not even last the full 5 days. At the end of the day, we got it wrong,” he said.
Masood also said that the decision to declare the first innings on 448 for six was taken to push for a result.
“We wanted to go for a win in the match and thus felt we had enough runs on the board to declare. But the Bangladesh batters showed a lot of discipline and intent in their first innings. Mushfiq and Miraz batted really well,” he added. (PTI)
