Bangladesh seal 2-0 series sweep by cruising to victory in Rawalpindi

All six Bangladesh batters made solid contributions in the fourth innings to ensure Pakistan had no chance of a comeback

Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan stitched together a stand of 32 off 12 overs to get Bangladesh over the line  •  Associated Press

Bangladesh 262 (Litton 138, Shahzad 6-90) and 185 for 4 (Zakir 40, Shanto 38) beat Pakistan 274 (Ayub 58, Mehidy 5-61) and 172 (Salman 57*, Mahmud 5-43) by six wickets

On what will go down as a red-letter day in Bangladesh's cricket history, their top-order stood tall with important contributions right through as they inflicted a historic 2-0 clean sweep over Pakistan with a six-wicket win on the fifth afternoon in Rawalpindi.

Chasing 185, Zakir Hasan scored 40, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque made steady 30s while the experienced pair of Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan were around to wrap things up, sparking celebratory scenes in the Bangladesh change room. There was a sense of calmness with which Bangladesh went about achieving their third-highest successful fourth-innings chase. After all, there was historical relevance to it.

An overseas Test victory - let alone a series win - is a rare event in Bangladesh cricket. This was only their fourth Test win in seven years on foreign soil and just their third-ever overseas Test series victory.

2021, they have drawn four Tests and lost six, which includes series defeats to Australia, England and now Bangladesh.

Heading into the second session, Bangladesh required 63 runs for the win with eight wickets in hand. Shanto tried a few reverse sweeps and even got a four through backward point but failed to carry for long. It was the softest of dismissals, with him bunting a straight Salman Agha delivery on middle stump to Abdullah Shafique at short leg.

Mominul, who was mostly sedate in the first session, got busy after Shanto fell. He neatly cut Salman through point before getting another four off Mir Hamza albeit off an edge. Pakistan got in desperate mode taking two back-to-back lbw reviews against Muhfiqur but there was an inside edge onto the pad both times. Mominul's aggression got the better of him when he mistimed Abrar straight up to mid-off.

But Mushfiqur and Shakib made sure there were no more errors. They took their time, rarely playing a shot in anger to cruise towards the target. Shakib struck Abrar for a straight six to bring the target down to below 20 before hitting the winning runs through covers off Abrar before tea. With the win, Bangladesh now move to fourth on the World Test Championship table ahead of England.

Mominul Haque and Najmul Hossain Shanto brought up a 50-run stand•Associated Press

Earlier, the Pakistan bowlers found their lengths, stuck to a plan and dried up the runs, but the Bangladesh top-order was resilient. Only 80 runs were scored in 27 overs in the extended morning session, with Pakistan nipping out both openers, but Shanto and Mominul stood firm.

Resuming on 42 for 0, Shadman Islam began with a crisp square cut to get things going but the Pakistan bowlers dictated the first 45 minutes. Mohammad Ali should have had a wicket when Zakir went after a good length ball outside off, which he seemingly missed. Replays showed there was a bottom edge but none of the fielders appealed.

Zakir didn't last long though. Hamza, who had found the right spot on a good length outside off, got a ball to angle in from the over-the-wicket line. It held its line after pitching and did enough to beat Zakir's outside edge and take the top of off stump.

Hamza and Ali strung the dot balls in, ensuring no easy runs were given. When Shanto finally got off the mark on his tenth ball, it was the first run scored by Bangladesh after 25 deliveries. Hamza then induced a thick outside edge off Shadman's blade that flew to the left of Salman at second slip. He made a valiant effort diving one-handed but failed to latch on. It would've been a regulation catch at third slip, but that position was left vacant.

Shadman failed to make much of the reprieve falling eight balls later to a loose drive. Khurram Shahzad got the ball to float up and outside off, with the opener driving on the up and straight to a pumped-up Shan Masood.

But Pakistan's hopes of a comeback were quashed by the pair of Shanto and Mominul. The hosts did have their chances, drawing the odd edges but the ball evaded the fielders. Shanto and Mominul knew time wasn't the issue, and they got the target down slowly.

Shanto still took the aggressive route a few times, like uppishly flicking Ali through midwicket and then smashing Shahzad down the ground, but Mominul was content with singles. The only time Mominul showed some aggression was when he slog-swept Abrar Ahmed through midwicket for four.

Masood rung in the changes and brought Hamza back on before lunch but the duo remained unmoved. While Pakistan did manage to dislodge the duo eventually, there weren't enough runs to play with, and they went down in front of a sparse home crowd.