Bangladesh’s thumping seven-wicket win over Pakistan in the opening T20I of the three-match series came with more than just a clinical finish — it sparked a lively war of words over the Shere Bangla National Stadium pitch.
Bangladesh’s thumping seven-wicket win over Pakistan in the opening T20I of the three-match series came with more than just a clinical finish — it sparked a lively war of words over the Shere Bangla National Stadium pitch.
Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson blamed his batters for poor shot selection but also launched a scathing critique of the surface.
I think [the pitch] is not ideal for anybody. Teams are trying to prepare for the Asia Cup or the T20 World Cup. It is not acceptable. It is still no excuse for some of the decisions we made with the bat. But this pitch is not up to international standards.
Hesson admitted that an early flurry of shots from Fakhar Zaman, who top-scored with 44, may have misled the rest of the lineup.
“We got off to a little bit of a flyer… Fakhar played four or five shots. It gave us a false indication about how the surface was playing. We didn’t help ourselves through the middle. We chose some poor options, and a couple of run-outs didn’t help either.”
Pakistan collapsed to 46/5 inside eight overs and never recovered — undone by risky strokes and three self-inflicted run-outs.
In contrast, Bangladesh, guided by a composed unbeaten 56 from Parvez Hossain Emon, cruised to victory in just 15.3 overs.
Bangladesh skipper Litton Das dismissed talk of an unplayable pitch and credited his team’s local experience and smart game awareness.
We definitely know about the wicket because we’ve played lots of cricket in Mirpur. It’s not easy to bat on, but the way we batted, it looked good. The ball came nicely in the second innings, probably because of the dew. We bowled really well and took early wickets — that was the key.
“We bowled really well and took early wickets — that was the key.” Emon, adjudged Player of the Match, echoed that sentiment and turned the spotlight back on Pakistan’s inability to adapt.
“We didn’t feel it was a bad pitch — we chased it down in under 16 overs,” Emon told ESPNCricinfo. “We could have made 150–160 if we batted the full 20 overs. Maybe they couldn’t adjust. We did. That made the difference.”
He added: “We tried to assess the wicket quickly — that was our first plan. We stayed positive and looked for singles. I enjoyed the sixes too.”
With Bangladesh now 1-0 up in the series, they will look to seal the contest on Tuesday, July 22, at the same venue, while Pakistan hope to regroup and respond — both with the bat and on the pitch.
Brief Scores: Pakistan 110 all out in 19.5 overs (Fakhar Zaman 44, Abbas Afridi 22; Shoriful Islam 2/15, Taskin Ahmed 2/21) Bangladesh 111/3 in 15.3 overs (Parvez Hossain Emon 56 not out, Towhid Hridoy 28; Mohammad Wasim 1/23) Bangladesh won by 7 wickets. Series: Bangladesh lead 1–0.
