Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Mirza, right, and teammates celebrate after dismissal of Pakistan’s Saim Ayub, left, during the second day of second test cricket match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Pakistan’s first-ever series loss to Bangladesh has resulted in Shan Masood’s team slipping down to the eighth position in the ICC Test rankings besides hitting a historic low of lowest rating points since 1965.

Pakistan were thrashed by 10 wickets in the first Test while the hosts lost the second by six wickets with Rawalpindi hosting both the matches.

“Pakistan dropped two places in the ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings to go to eighth position after suffering a shock series loss at home to Bangladesh,” the ICC said on its website.

“The hosts were sixth in the rankings table before the series, but back-to-back losses have seen them drop below West Indies to eighth with 76 rating points.

“This is the lowest rating points Pakistan have had in the Test rankings table since 1965, barring a brief period where they did not have a place in the rankings due to an insufficient number of matches.”

Bangladesh’s chase in the second Test of 185 was also the third highest successful chase in Pakistan for any visiting side, but there was a little in terms of promotion for the ‘Tigers’.

Bangladesh remained in ninth position and behind Pakistan despite gaining 13 rating points.

However, the 2-0 series win has bolstered Bangladesh in the points table for the World Test Championship cycle 2023-25 as they are now placed fourth behind table-toppers India, Australia at second and New Zealand at third.

Bangladesh, who will now focus their attention on a two-Test series against India starting in Chennai on September 19, have 45.83 percentage points and 33 points with three wins and as many defeats in six Tests.

In WTC, teams get 12 points for a Test win, four for a draw and six for a tie while being ranked according to percentage of points won.

Bangladesh’s Mehidy Hasan Mirza, center, celebrates with teammates after taking the wicket of Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi during the fifth day of the first cricket test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, in Rawalpindi
| Photo Credit: AP

Bangladesh eyes a historic win as Pakistan collapsed to 108-6 on the fifth and final day of the first test.

Pakistan was in tatters against a disciplined Bangladesh bowling attack, coupled with some poor shot selection in the first session on Sunday (August 25, 2024).

At lunch, Pakistan still trails by nine runs after conceding 117-run first innings lead.

Also Read: Mushfiqur and Mehidy nullify Pakistan’s pace as Bangladesh takes lead

Mohammad Rizwan was the last recognized batsman at the crease unbeaten on 22, which included three successive boundaries off Nahid Rana, while Shaheen Shah Afridi was not out on 1 after he survived a lbw referral against Shakib Al Hasan just before the break.

Bangladesh has lost 12 of its last 13 test matches against Pakistan, with the only other test match at Sylhet in Bangladesh ending in a draw in 2015.

Resuming Sunday at 23-1 and 94 runs in deficit, Pakistan lost captain Shan Masood (14) in the second over of the day when fast bowler Hasan Mahmud found a faint edge and had the Pakistan skipper caught behind.

Masood argued with onfield umpire Richard Kettleborough for the second time in the test match after he was also caught behind in a controversial manner in the first innings, but the television replays clearly suggested the left-hander had got a little tickle to the ball after Bangladesh went for a successful television referral.

Hasan should have had Babar Azam out for a pair of ducks in the game, but wicketkeeper Litton Das spilled a simple catch off the first ball Babar faced. Babar tried to break the shackles and hit three boundaries before he dragged tall fast bowler Rana (1-30) when on 22.

Pakistan’s middle-order batters were guilty of throwing their wickets away against the two spinners – Shakib and Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

First innings century-maker Saud Shakeel needlessly tried to play an extravagant shot against Shakib and got stumped for zero for the first time in his short test career.

Abdullah Shafique also ran out of patience and went for an over ambitious shot against Shakib (2-24) and top edged a catch to point before off-spinner Mehidy (1-5) found the outside edge of Salman Ali Agha’s bat in his second over as Bangladesh further pushed for victory.

Pakistan’s Shaheen Shah Afridi celebrates with captain Babar Azam after taking his 100th ODI wicket during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh in Kolkata on October 31, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, on October 31, became the fastest Pakistani bowler to claim 100 ODI wickets. He achieved this feat in the 50th innings during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh in Kolkata. Pakistan is playing Bangladesh to stay in contention for a semifinal berth. Shaheen Afridi overtook the record of Saqlain Mushtaq who took 53 matches to reach the milestone.

Shaheen Afridi, son-in-law of former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi, has taken 105 wickets in Tests in just 46 innings apart from 64 wickets in T20 internationals.

He represented his country in the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. He was also the leading wicket taker in the tournament with 12 wickets.

In September 2018, he made his debut in the ODIs during the 2018 Asia Cup against Afghanistan and made his T20 international debut in March 2018. Shaheen Shah Afridi, the main strike bowler for the Pakistani team, made his Test debut in December 2018.