Bangladesh whitewash Pakistan again

Bangladesh completed a whitewash over Pakistan yesterday in the test series they were playing at home, winning it 2-0. This follows the 2-0 whitewash they achieved in the test series before this, in Pakistan two years ago (in Rawalpindi, of all places). Bangladesh have also won the last ODI and T20I series between the two sides.

During my vanvaas, apart from enjoying the IPL (on which I will do a post later, maybe after the final) I also watched a decent chunk of the test series. Test cricket has its own flavour of joy, distinct from the more immediate rush of T20 cricket. Its slower and more meandering pace means you can actually put it on the background while tending to other stuff. 

Some thoughts about the series.

Bangladesh has overtaken Pakistan

Bangladesh has been doing economically well over the past few decades and now surpasses Pakistan in most, if not all socioeconomic indicators – higher GDP, higher GDP per capita, higher HDI, lower poverty rate, higher life expectancy, better access to electricity etc.

Diverging HDI between Bangladesh and Pakistan

Diverging GDP pci between Bangladesh and Pakistan

Trend suggest that this gap will grow even more in the future.

Now the thing about these “numbers” are that people who are interested in them will know about them but the average person on the street doesn’t know and/or care. What actually gets their attention is the visible second order effects of these numbers.

The average Pakistani knows that India is better off than them in the present day not because of “HDI” or “GDP per capita” but because of things like the Indian cricket team’s successes (in general and versus Pakistan) or Chandrayaan and the ilk. 

Actual visible tangible things rather than abstract numbers.

And just like for India, Bangladesh’s economic rise has led it to becoming a solid team (even if not as good as India) which defeats Pakistan more often that not.

This, the average Pakistani on the street can see.

Pace is pace, yaar

Pakistani cricket fans’ greatest pride is their fast bowling legacy. Usually the preserve of non subcontinental countries, Pakistan was the subcontinental outlier which relied more on pace than spin. Even when Pakistan cricket’s fortunes turned in the 2000s, especially vis a vis India, Pakistani fans still took solace in their “meat-eating” fast bowlers compared to India’s “vegetarian” medium pacers. Of course, this trend has reversed in the last 15 years or so but I’ll leave that for another post someday.

For most of the subcontinent, especially at home – the road to success was through spinners on slow pitches.

India had the spin quartet for most of the 60s and 70s, then Kumble/Harbhajan for most of the 90s and 00s and for the past decade or so relied on Ashwin/Jadeja (although complemented with a very good pace attack unlike earlier spin attacks).

Sri Lanka had Muralitharan wheeling away for nearly twenty years followed by 10-15 years of Herath holding the fort.

Even Pakistan, for all its fast bowling bluster has resorted to this formula for most of this century. Kaneria in the 2000s (incidentally a Hindu), Ajmal in the earlier part of the 2010s, Yasir Shah in the latter part and currently Noman Ali/Sajid Khan (with the help of some industrial fans).

Bangladesh followed this same formula for test success especially over the past decade which saw them win matches vs Australia, England, Sri Lanka etc. Their talisman through most of this era was Shakib Al Hasan, later complemented by Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who were part of the current series win.

The first match of the 2024 whitewash (which was Bangladesh’s first test win over Pakistan) did follow this formula. Slow flat subcontinental pitch where Bangladeshi spinners ran through Pakistan when the pitch started assisting spin later.

To avoid this fate, Pakistan prepared a green top in the second match, expecting to overwhelm Bangladesh with their “better” pacers. But it backfired, because Bangladesh was the one with better pacers.

There was a 21 year old kid who got the limelight with a 4fer, troubling the Pakistani lineup with pace and bounce including their best batsman, Babar Azam. This kid was back in the current series making life difficult for Pakistani batsman again, including taking a 5fer in the first match of the series, derailing the Pakistani chase. He was also lethal in the ODI series played a few months ago, including a match where Pakistan was bundled out for 114. In the recent PSL he was part of the title winning team and was very effective in the matches he played including the final (he left midway for international commitments).

So Pakistani fans in a short period have already seen the devastating effects of a “Bangladeshi” fast bowler. Something they could not have imagined in their worst nightmares.

Introducing Nahid Rana.

Nahid Rana is a 6’5″ tall bowler who bowls at a high pace often touching 150 kph with lethal bounce. Basically the platonic ideal of a fast bowler which Pakistan has been waiting for since the two W’s hung up their boots many decades ago. And he happens to be Bangladeshi.

Also unlike the subcontinental style of fast bowling which relies on getting wickets by bowling straight and getting bowled/LBW wickets, Nahid has more in common with the South African/Australian style (and in their heyday, the West Indians). Nasty short pitched bowling bowled into the body and this is the kind of bowling Pakistani batsmen absolutely hate.

Pakistan are currently on a run of 17 consecutive matches lost in Australia and their record in South Africa in the 21st century isn’t much better (12L1W) and that is mostly due to the complete inability of Pakistani batsmen to play bounce.

Even more modest bowlers with this style have run through Pakistani batsmen including Hardik Pandya and Andre Russell.

To make matters worse, the Pakistani bowlers were barely able to muster any pace, huffing and puffing at 130kph before ending the day at 120kph. They had become the bhaagte huye spinners they used to mock.

First match – Low speeds of the Pakistani pacers

Second match – Fastest Pakistani still slower than the slowest Bangladeshi

CricInfo has carried an article showing how Pakistani pacers are the second worst in the world, only ahead of Ireland who barely play tests.

While the general decline of Pakistani cricket must be hurtful to their fans, the decline in pace bowling stocks adds a bit more salt.

The Hindu angle

Another commonality between the two test series was that both of the second matches had the same Bangladesh batsman as the man of the match, who had similar rescue efforts in both games.

In the 2nd match of the 2024 series, Bangladesh were reduced to 26-6 in reply to Pakistan’s 274. Batting with the tail, this batsman scored 138 to get Bangladesh to 262, cutting the first innings deficit to only 12.

In the 2nd match of the current series, Bangladesh were 116-6 in the first innings after which this batsman with the help of the tail got Bangladesh to 278. He also hit a quick 69 in the second innings.

He is a Hindu – Litton Kumar Das.

Rawalpindi, 2024

Sylhet, 2026

While any defeat to India or Bangladesh might be galling for Pakistani fans due to historical reasons (add Afghanistan to this mix too now), when the cause of that defeat is by an Indian Muslim or a Bangladeshi Hindu, it hurts a bit more. Indian Muslims whose culture they appropriate and whose existence dilutes their “inheritance”. Bangladeshi Hindus who were once “Pakistani Hindus” and who faced disproportionate violence during 1971.

Brothers Irfan and Yusuf were part of the team that defeated Pakistan in the inaugural T20 World Cup final. Irfan was man of the match and also had seminal contributions in 2004 when India defeated Pakistan away from home for the first time in both ODIs and tests.

A new reality

For an “upset” or “fluke” to happen in cricket where a weaker team defeats a stronger team, it often depends on the format.

T20 being the shortest is often the most upset-friendly as one good short performance can flip the game (the current Indian team’s dominance in this most volatile of formats speaks to its excellence).

ODIs less common but they still do happen – India and Pakistan’s exits at the hands of Bangladesh and Ireland in the 2007 World Cup being the most famous.

Tests it is very difficult because you need to sustain excellence across five whole days. Weaker teams often win a session here and there but stronger teams generally make a comeback and win.

Winning a test is hard enough for a weaker team. Winning a series whitewashing the opponent is even harder. Winning two series whitewashes over two years and in two countries is pure dominance.

The uncomfortable truth for Pakistani cricket fans is that Pakistan is the “weaker” team now.

While the first series win was genuinely an upset with fans being shocked by it, the second one had fans/analysts conceding it would be very even with Bangladesh starting as favourites. And the ensuing results validate those predictions.

A growing realization has now dawned in Pakistani cricketing circles that the current state of things might no longer be a momentary “bump” before revival, but a more permanent decline.

I have often commented on how India, the country they separated from, doing well and peeling away from them would lead to self-reflection amongst Pakistanis and a subsequent re-calibration regarding their priorities. Would Bangladesh, the country that separated from them doing the same accelerate this process?

Because as it stands, Pakistan is very much in danger of becoming the Randhir Kapoor of the subcontinent.