After the first T20I defeat, Pakistan head coach “Mike Hesson” lashed out at the Mirpur pitch.
A flying start, followed by a sudden collapse, and then a complete failure to recover — Pakistan fell to a heavy defeat against Bangladesh in the first T20I, mainly due to their batting failure. Accepting his team’s shortcomings, Pakistan’s head coach “Mike Hesson” still criticized the Mirpur pitch, calling it “not up to international standards.”
Pakistan were bundled out for just 110 runs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium on Sunday. “Mustafizur Rahman” tormented the batters with his slowers, cutters, and variations, leaving the likes of “Fakhar Zaman” and “Khushdil Shah” clueless. Later, “Parvez Hossain” powered Bangladesh to a commanding seven-wicket win with a blazing fifty.
Interestingly, after “Taskin Ahmed” finished his first over, noticeable boot marks began appearing on the pitch. However, it’s not like the pitch turned into a nightmare for batters. Throughout the match, only a few deliveries behaved unusually. “Mustafizur”, “Tanzim Hasan”, and the others effectively used cutters and slower balls to tie down Pakistan’s batting. Poor running between the wickets also hurt the visitors.
Apart from “Fakhar Zaman”, who scored 44 off 34 balls, no Pakistani batter could make an impact. In the post-match press conference, “Hesson” admitted his batters’ failure but also expressed his displeasure with the pitch.
“I don’t think this kind of wicket is good for anyone. When a team is preparing for events like the Asia Cup or World Cup, such pitches are unacceptable. This is not an excuse for our poor shot selection, but this wicket is not of international standard.”
Ironically, in the second innings, “Parvez” batted with ease on the same pitch. His unbeaten 56 off 39 balls, laced with 3 fours and 5 sixes, earned him the Player of the Match award.
Speaking at the press conference, the left-handed opener said the Pakistan batters failed to adjust to the conditions.
“I didn’t feel like the wicket was unsuitable for T20 cricket. We chased 110 inside 16 overs. If we had batted the full 20 overs, we could have scored 160. So, I don’t think the pitch was that difficult. Maybe they couldn’t adjust. We just tried to adapt.”
Bangladesh’s chase, however, didn’t start smoothly. Within the first three overs, both “Tanzid Hasan” and “Litton” were back in the pavilion. But “Parvez” and “Towhid Hridoy” built a match-winning 73-run stand that brought Bangladesh close to victory.
The 23-year-old opener also shared the plan that worked for them on a slightly bowling-friendly surface.
“The Mirpur pitch always offers something for the bowlers — that’s normal. Our plan was to read the pitch and settle in as quickly as possible. That’s what we focused on. The bounce wasn’t unpredictable. A couple of deliveries behaved oddly, maybe due to the footmarks left by the bowlers.”
“Hesson” had a different perspective. With his vast coaching experience across franchise leagues worldwide, he believes playing on such pitches may not help Bangladeshi cricketers in the long run.
“I don’t think this will help them when they play abroad. Yes, batting in these conditions is challenging — you never really know if 130 or 150 will be a good score.”
“Then when you go abroad and play on good pitches, your weaknesses will be exposed. So, I don’t think this helps anyone. But again, we need to play well on any pitch, and as a team, that’s what we’ll try to do.”
During the pitch report, former Pakistan cricketer “Aamir Sohail” had noted that the wicket looked firm but might have some moisture underneath due to the recent rain in Dhaka, which could assist spinners. However, it was the pacers who dominated the game.
