DHAKA: Pakistan’s white-ball head coach Mike Hesson admitted his team’s batting was “exposed” by the Bangladesh bowling attack following their crushing eight-wicket defeat in the first ODI in Mirpur.
The tourists were bowled out for 114 in the one-dayer against Bangladesh. Pakistan’s fourth largest margin of defeat in terms of balls remaining.
Fast bowler Nahit Rana was amazing with five wickets. With Pakistan yet to lose a wicket in the tenth over, the 22-year-old doubled his career ODI tally within five overs, scoring in each of his first five overs to shatter the innings.
“It was a very disappointing batting performance,” Hesson said after the game. “I don’t think there’s any shame from that. It’s not just the youth, we’ve been exposed against some good bowling, we’ve gone into our shell a little bit and we’ve got to turn things around quickly.”
Pakistan’s bold selection dominated the build-up to the series, handing out four first ODI caps – the first time since 2008 that they have fielded an inexperienced line-up.
The move, along with the recent appointments of Misbah-ul-Haq and Sarfaraz Ahmed to the men’s selection panel, was seen as a clear indication of the team’s future direction.
However, the gamble definitely backfired. The four debutant batsmen combined for just 49 runs.
Shamil Hussain had a tough time against Rana’s blistering pace. He was dropped before edging a short ball to the wicketkeeper as he stayed for an unforgettable seven balls.
Hesson, who had earlier criticized the slow, turning tracks produced during Pakistan’s T20 series in Bangladesh last July, had no such complaints about the surface in Dhaka and was full of praise for the opposition fast bowler.
“The wicket was good,” he said. “It was very well played. Nahit Rana was exceptional. Until he came on, we were good and he changed the game. He bowled inside the wicket, created some variation and bounce, which he’s allowed to do when he’s bowling at that pace. And we didn’t respond as much as we needed to. So all credit to him.”
Despite the seriousness of the loss, Hessen made the decision to protect both young players and select them.
“The youngsters have to learn. It’s not just the youngsters (who have struggled). We all have to stand up and play better with the bat and we will definitely try to do that in Games 2 and 3.”
Pakistan didn’t pick Harris Raub, meaning they don’t have a bowler to match Rana’s express pace. However, Hessen dismissed the notion that his team was getting nervous with the extra pace.
“You always face that pace,” he said of Rana. “He bowled in good areas, he was aggressive, he bowled good bouncers. He deserved what he got.
The coach admitted that defending a paltry total led his bowlers to deviate from their disciplined plans.
“When you’re defending down the stretch, wanting to be disciplined and create pressure, you search a little bit. And I think there’s no doubt we went looking for the ball. We didn’t run the ball as much as we wanted to. When you’re chasing a score, you can play a little bit more freely. Really quickly.
“Youngsters have to learn. You have to give them opportunities to learn and grow. We want them to run out and score a century in their debut match, but they have to overcome some tough challenges. We have to show some resilience in the next few days and fight well in the next game.
“We’re looking forward to the next match. There’s a bit of reflection in today’s game. We were poor and I don’t think we’ll underestimate that we came out with the bat.”
Meanwhile, the visitors were bundled out for just 114 in 30.4 overs, marking their lowest score in the 50-over format against Bengal Tigers.
Nahid Rana claimed 5/24 in seven overs and wreaked havoc on Pakistan’s batting line-up. Mehdi Hasan Miraz took 3 wickets and Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed took one wicket each.
The hosts comfortably chased down Pakistan’s target of 115 runs for the loss of just 2 wickets in 15.1 overs thanks to a brilliant display from the Tigers’ top order.
Bangladesh got off to a solid start as openers Saif Hasan and Tanzid Hasan set the tone as Tanzid led the way as he targeted Shaheen Afridi and Faheem Ashraf in the opening overs.
The 27-run partnership was broken when captain Shaheen Afridi dismissed Saib cheaply for 4 off 10 balls.
After the breakthrough, Danzid and Najmul Hossain Shando put together a brilliant partnership, hitting fours to take the team past 50 in the seventh over.
The duo put on a combined fifty, dominating Pakistan’s bowling—with Abrar conceding consecutive sixes and Shaheen hitting several boundaries.
Danzith continued his batting prowess, scoring his fifth ODI half-century in fine form to restrict Bangladesh to 92-1 in 12 overs.
However, the 82-run partnership ended when Wasim Jr took the crucial wicket of Najmul Shando, who scored 27 runs off 33 balls with 5 boundaries.
Tansit Hasan led Bengal Tigers’ innings with an unbeaten 67 off 42 balls with 7 fours and 5 sixes, while Liton Das contributed 3 runs.