Bangladesh won Test series against Pakistan
After waiting for nine long years Bangladesh has finally won their first overseas Test series Victory. Bangladesh earned their Test status in 2000, in 2003 Bangladesh was on the edge to win the Test series against Pakistan in Multan but they lost narrowly at a moment that left a long-lasting pain on the hearts of the players and their fans.
Khaled Mahmud who was the captain of Bangladesh during the Multan Test started crying and the team was deeply heartbroken after the match against Pakistan as they came very close to a historic win. Despite playing the Test format for the last 24 years, Bangladesh could not manage to establish itself as a dominant power in Test Cricket. But their recent victory against Pakistan in Rawalpindi has become a mark of their strength.
Khaled Mahmud’s words on remembering their loss and cherishing the recent victory:
It’s true that while watching the game I took a little trip down memory lane myself, literally remembering every moment of the Multan Test considering nothing can erase the pain of not crossing over the finish line despite coming so close,” he said.
“Until today whenever we were playing against Pakistan, we always talk about our heartbreak in Multan but from today everyone will talk about the famous win in Rawalpindi.
“It is massive to beat Pakistan in Tests, and at their home. Maybe we didn’t have much experience of winning a Test back then. This team has that. Mushfiqur [Rahim], Shakib [al Hasan], [Mehidy Hasan] Miraz, [Najmul] Shanto, Liton [Das] and everyone else out there, they have the experience. No one thought yesterday that Bangladesh would win but the way we bowled and fought back, [it was] unbelievable. In one word – brilliant,” Mahmud, the current director of Bangladesh Cricket Board, said.
“Luck didn’t favour us (in Multan). Today it favoured us. It’s true luck wasn’t with us in Multan. Maybe we missed catches. Umpiring was poor too. If DRS were there, maybe we would’ve won that Test,” he added.
True (if DRS were there, we would have won the Multan Test). That I agree with. A few decisions would [have been] in our favour. Maybe then we wouldn’t have to go through the pain. Maybe we could’ve won the match earlier,” said Hannan, who is currently a member of the Bangladesh national selection panel.
“I don’t want to compare this match (Rawalpindi win) with that Multan Test. You know, we had just started playing Test cricket at that time, the idea of beating Pakistan in a Test was a different matter at that point of time but now I believe this Bangladesh team can win against any team by playing good cricket and so it can’t be compared,” he said.
While the win in Rawalpindi is a huge win for the team, the pain of the Multan test loss is still there. However, the pain will fade as many new victories may come to cherish.
