Bangladesh scripted a stunning 104-run victory over Pakistan on the final day’s third session during the first Test played at Sher-e-Bangla in Dhaka. This win was quite special for the Tigers. Bangladesh, ranked 9th on the ICC Men’s Test Team rankings, registered their first-ever win on home soil against the 6th-ranked Pakistan, thus entering the history books with a statement victory and crushing the Shan Masood-led XI’s spirits.
Following the loss, Pakistan’s Test team faced significant backlash from their passionate fans with Masood facing the worst on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).
How did Pakistan arrive at this situation, and why have their continued struggles against Bangladesh in the longest format of the game have become
a cause of great concern for the backers of the national side?
Nahid Rana’s Fifer Sets Up The Perfect Stage
Asked to bat first, Bangladesh responded with a strong total of 413 on the scoreboard. An elegant ton by skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto (101) and an impressive 91 by Mominul Haque put the home team in the driver’s seat. However, Pakistan responded ably with 386, thanks to Azan Awais’s century up top.
Rain then announced its arrival, slashing significant play on Day 3 and Day 4 of the first Test. When the rain clouds finally subsided, Bangladesh came out with a clear intent to score quickly and give their opponents a score to chase on the final day of the intriguing Test. And so they did, declaring after scoring a quick 240 for 9 in their second innings. Pakistan finally had a target in sight: 267.
Pakistan batters struggled to convert their starts into big scores, and except for Abdullah Fazal’s 66, no other batter stuck around to steady the proceedings. Despite this, the visitors seemed to be in control, having reached tea on the final day with four down. Nahid Rana, however, breathed fire with a fiery spell that turned the game on its head. Departures of Pak batters Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan, both victims of Rana’s pace and discipline, triggered a collapse, and the target of 267 seemed too distant and eventually proved unreachable for Pakistan.
Also Read: Why Did Virat Kohli’s 1 Run Celebration Against KKR Become A Meme?
Skipper Shanto was deservedly crowned Player of the Match for his 101 and 87, but Rana became the unsung hero in Bangladesh’s historic Test win, a victory that earned the Tigers 12 crucial World Test Championship points. The win also ensured Bangladesh couldn’t lose the two-match Test series from here, making for an interesting scenario as to how they will approach the second and the concluding Test.
Pakistan Fans Livid By The Defeat
It may surprise nobody that Pakistan supporters back home, who had hoped for a win, watched their team crumble spectacularly to Bangladesh. The unsightly scenes in Dhaka left plenty in anger and misery, as they raised uncomfortable questions about the team and its future.
“Muhammad Rizwan’s performance is very questionable. Dropping catches, missing stumpings, throwing away wickets. As if he’s not interested anymore,” wrote X user @michaelscottfc.
Another lamented the lack of batting talent in the squad while reminiscing about the Pakistani legends.
One of the biggest issue with this current pak test batting lineup is they never score big hundreds after getting set despite batting on flat wickets in most of the games. Misbah and Younis team had that ability and they won games in first inns by scoring 500.
— Khayam (@KhayamSays) May 10, 2026
“Remove Shan Masood”
Perhaps the biggest offender in their loss, at least to Pakistan cricket fans, was their captain, Shan Masood. Revisiting the dreadful results in the red-ball format under Masood’s leadership, the online critics slammed his captaincy and questioned his place in the XI.
Masood has thus far captained Pakistan in 15 Tests, with 11 defeats while securing only 4 wins. Masood’s role as the Pakistan captain kick-started with a horror show, suffering consecutive series defeats during 2023-2024 against Australia (3-0), which was followed up with a shocking 2-0 defeat to Bangladesh, marking Pakistan’s first-ever home Test series loss, further denting Masood’s reputation as the leader.
Pakistan Test team under the captaincy of Shan Masood.
– Lost 2–0 to Bangladesh at home.
– Lost a Test against the West Indies at home.
– Lost three consecutive Tests to Bangladesh.
– Joint-most defeats as Pakistan captain.
– Finished in last place in the previous WTC cycle.… pic.twitter.com/W95GdNEVMf— Sheri. (@CallMeSheri1_) May 12, 2026
The recent defeat in Dhaka marked Masood and Pakistan’s third consecutive loss to Bangladesh in Test cricket.
Shan Masood is tied for the second-most losses as Pakistan’s Test captain and has the highest loss percentage in the role. pic.twitter.com/uba3FWrDw6
— Backward Point Pod (@point_backward) May 13, 2026
Fans have humbly urged their captain to step down with grace rather than be dismissed from the top role.
Shoaib Akhtar on Shan’s captaincy
“They really killed the merit. He’s spot on with his captaincy. I mean, come on, for heaven’s sake, this guy does nothing on the field — completely nothing
You know, he’s just a good guy, just a good guy, so we made him captain”
🎥[PTV SPORTS] https://t.co/X3aFAvOWXZ pic.twitter.com/KuyqN0EhTC
— Pavilion Post (@CricinsightsX) May 11, 2026
A U-turn On The Cards?
A report has now claimed that PCB would want to rectify their mistake by bringing back Babar Azam to lead the pack after Masood’s poor captaincy show in the longest format for the national side.
News agency PTI quoted a source close to the team as claiming that Azam could return as captain for the remainder of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship cycle. Pakistan have 7 Tests lined up on their calendar for the remainder of 2026.
