Pakistan Opener Shan Masood Reflects on Tough Loss Against Bangladesh
Pakistan’s captain Shan Masood admitted his team had made “a lot of mistakes” over the course of the first Test match against Bangladesh, which ultimately led to their 30-run defeat. Despite four fairly attritional days where just 17 wickets fell, Bangladesh, spearheaded by their spinners Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, rolled Pakistan over for 146 in the second innings, setting up a dramatic ten-wicket victory on the final day.
Masood acknowledged that the loss of the second new ball as well as their inability to maintain composure with the ball were the key factors that cost Pakistan the game. “As a bowling unit, where we lost the game was the second new ball. That’s where we could have imposed ourselves on the game and let ourselves down,” he said.
Tactical Error in Declaring the First Innings
The Pakistan captain also pointed out that their decision to declare the first innings at 448 for 6 may have been a tactical error in hindsight, as they could have scored 50-100 more runs to put Bangladesh under more pressure. “If you asked me now, we would have liked another 50-100 runs. That would have kept us in the game,” Masood admitted.
Defending the All-Pace Attack
Masood defended the team’s decision to field an all-pace attack, citing the extreme weather conditions and the need to manage the workload of the fast bowlers. However, he acknowledged that the part-time spinners used by Pakistan could not make the same impact as Bangladesh’s front-line spinners on the final day.
Responsibility and Resilience
Despite the disappointment of the defeat, Masood remained composed, taking full responsibility on behalf of the team. “We’re all upset. The whole nation is upset. As a leader of this team, we apologise to the nation for failing to give people the result they wanted,” he said.
Looking ahead to the second Test, Masood left the door open for the inclusion of specialist spinner Abrar Ahmed, depending on the pitch and weather conditions. The Pakistan captain emphasized that the team would learn from their mistakes and work towards bouncing back in the next match.
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