Taijul six-fer seals 78-run win as Bangladesh complete a first home sweep of Pakistan
Bangladesh sealed a 2-0 series sweep over Pakistan on Wednesday in Sylhet, finishing the visitors off by 78 runs to complete their first-ever home Test series whitewash of the touring side. The match ended on day five with Taijul Islam doing the bulk of the damage, the left-arm spinner taking six wickets across Pakistan's second innings to push the host past the line.
Pakistan resumed the morning on 316 for 7, chasing what had always looked an improbable 437. Mohammad Rizwan was unbeaten on 75 the previous evening, 25 runs short of the century that might have changed the colour of the day. He never got there. Trying to defend an arm ball that skidded on, Rizwan was bowled before Pakistan could properly settle, and once the seventh-wicket resistance broke the rest of the innings folded for 359.
Taijul finishes the job
Taijul had ended day four with four wickets in the innings, including Salman Agha and Shan Masood, both for 71. He returned to mop up the lower order and finished with a six-for, walking off Sylhet International Cricket Stadium with the match in his pocket.
It was the second time in the two-match series that Taijul had set the terms. The 34-year-old's hold over Pakistan's middle order on a worn Sylhet pitch took the home side from "still playing" to "almost finished" in less than a session.
Mushfiqur's runs and Litton's lifeline
The 437 target was built on Mushfiqur Rahim's 137 in the second innings, his 14th Test century, which carried Bangladesh's total of 390 and gave the bowlers more than enough to defend. Mushfiqur picked up the Player of the Series award for an aggregate that had also included steady runs in Dhaka.
Bangladesh's first innings had needed rescuing from 116 for 6 before Litton Das walked in and made 126, dragging the hosts to 278 and keeping them within range of Pakistan's reply of 232. Litton was named Player of the Match. From there the match was already tilted; Mushfiqur and the second-innings runs simply made the chase unmanageable.
A first whitewash, and a WTC move
Bangladesh have beaten Pakistan in Tests before, both at home and away, but a clean sweep on home soil is new. The first Test in Dhaka had gone Bangladesh's way by 104 runs, and Sylhet finished the job. The win also lifted Bangladesh into fourth in the World Test Championship standings on a 58.33 win percentage, overtaking India by points.
Shan Masood's side, by contrast, head home with questions of their own. Mushfiqur, Litton and Taijul have been the headlines, but Pakistan's batting has now been broken twice in a fortnight by a Bangladesh attack that the touring side might have expected to handle.
Cricket Updates
