Before the first Test against Pakistan, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain emphasized that records can be broken when asked about his team’s winless record against Pakistan in Test matches. So far, they had lost 12 matches and had drawn one.
On Sunday in Rawalpindi, Bangladesh made history by defeating the host team by 10 wickets. Najmul said, ‘This is very important because we don’t win many matches outside of home. I think we won in New Zealand, and now we’ve also won here. This year, we planned for the World Test Championship on how we can win matches away from home or at least draw them.
He said, “This victory has yielded good results, and I hope it will boost the confidence of both the players and the fans. Therefore, I believe we will play even better cricket moving forward.” “It’s an amazing feeling, and when we arrived here this morning, we were confident and knew we could win this match because we were ahead by 94 runs, and the pitch seemed particularly challenging for batting against spinners, with variable bounce for the fast bowlers.” “We were confident that if we bowled in the right areas, we could defeat them, and that’s exactly what happened.”
Najmul mentioned that their fast bowling unit has developed significantly in recent years, and with experienced players like Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan, they can challenge any team. Najmul said, “As you all know, Shakib and Miraz are very experienced, and they made excellent use of the conditions. So, both of them, along with the fast bowlers, bowled exceptionally well.”
“I don’t think so,” he said when asked if Pakistan had underestimated them. “As we know, their strength lies in fast bowling, and in the last few years, our fast bowlers and spinners have also performed well. We bowled well, but our batsmen batted exceptionally in these hot conditions, especially the way the openers played in the first 12 overs.”
He further added, “Credit goes to all the batsmen, particularly the way the openers handled the new ball against these excellent bowlers. It was a team effort, and after that, the bowling was outstanding.”
Najmul said that Mushfiqur Rahim’s performance was not surprising at all, as he played a brilliant knock of 191 runs, setting the stage for the victory. He said, “We all know how experienced Mushy is, and he does all the right things every day. He did his job, and we expect something similar from him in every match.”
“The next match is very important. We really enjoyed this match, and now we have to prepare ourselves for the next game and figure out how we can win it. We all believe we can win the next game, but it’s a process, and we need to think about how we can progress from one session to the next. It’s important to stay calm and focus on each session.”
Najmul mentioned that the preparations done at home played a significant role in the historic victory. Bangladesh had set up an extended preparation camp before the series, which began on May 25, and the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) also decided to send six Test cricketers to play in the Bangladesh A team against Pakistan Shaheens in a four-day game as part of the preparations. Bangladesh traveled to Pakistan ahead of schedule because their practice was disrupted due to political unrest in the country.
Najmul said, “It’s a really special moment for us, and we’re really happy because everyone showed their character in these hot conditions. The way we practiced over the past 15 days, doing all the right things off the field, that’s why we got the results. The players who were on a break before the Test were preparing at home. This helped us in these conditions.”
Najmul dedicated the victory to those who recently lost their lives during the student protests, which led to the downfall of the government. He said, “This win is dedicated to those who lost their lives among the students and the public during the anti-discrimination protests. On behalf of the team, we send our heartfelt prayers to them. Their families have faced a very difficult time, and we hope this victory brings a little smile to their faces.”