Team Pakistan, right now, isn’t exactly going through a golden era, but few expected the bloody nose Bangladesh gave them on this tour. For much of 1st Test match, Pakistan’s chief frustration appeared to be they would end up with a draw, a draw would inhibit their efforts, which captain Shan Masood bullishly talked up in the build-up, at having a real crack at reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Five days later, Pakistan would lose, and to add insult to injury, have half-a-dozen points docked for slow over rates, placing them ever so close to the bottom of the table. A hom’ series defeat to Bangladesh would bring its own ignominy, which has little to do with whether they’re in the race to prove themselves the best Test side in the world. Bangladesh had, until last week, won just six away Tests in a quarter century of being Full Members, two against an enfeebled West Indies in 2009, and another two against Zimbabwe.

That task is complicated by the weather in Rawalpindi once more. Rain forced the cancellation of practice sessions on the eve of the game, with more forecast for the first day. It has led Pakistan to hesitate before officially confirming a spinner for the Test, naming a 12-man squad with Abrar Ahmed and Mir Hamza both in contention. Masood pointed out Pakistan were the more proactive side last week, and with Bangladesh only needing a draw, his side will have to find a way to repeat that while also ensuring they get a better result.

And what, really, can you say about the position Bangladesh have created for themselves? Najmul Hossain Shanto’s side outplayed as well as outthought the hosts, doing the basics right. Like making sure they had spinners in case they came in handy on the final day, which they did. Or not leaving runs out by declaring early owing to ultimately unrealised concerns it might rain, which it did not. They let Pakistan’s wobbles do the rest, and the ten-wicket win was as clinical as it was merited.

There are more important things going on back home, but the uncomplicated joy of last week was as welcome as it was unexpected. This, remember, is not a vintage Bangladesh side, and did not come in saddled with high expectations. They came in last week, saw an opponent making unforced errors and didn’t interrupt them. They didn’t get sucked into playing fashionably aggressive cricket, or bullied into doing anything they didn’t want to do. They had no qualms about batting at under three runs an over for large parts of the first innings, and when Pakistan turned to declaration bowling, they simply didn’t declare.

It secured Bangladesh arguably their greatest Test win, but they will know they need to hold off on wild celebrations for now. With one Test on the horizon and no clear signs Pakistan will be able to produce the pitch they want, all Bangladesh may need to do is pick up where they left off in the first Test. Pakistan must make all the moves, and as Bangladesh demonstrated, they are not going to be displaced too easily.

Babar Azam’s slump aligning perfectly with the team’s nosediving Test form has been aggravating. Pakistan are used to dry patches and players out of form, but it isn’t quite obvious why this generation’s best batter is now struggling to achieve the big scores that came so easily to him. There isn’t a particular type of bowling or kind of shot that's ailing him nor does he have other responsibilities now that he has been relieved of the armband. Babar fell to two basic unforced errors in the first Test, a squeeze down leg side and a drive without footwork doing for him. Home runs on flat surfaces against Bangladesh seemed like a no-brainer, and he now has one more Test to try and fix that.

Shaheen Afridi has been omitted from the squad for the second Test, with Abrar and Hamza part of the 12-member squad Pakistan have announced. Shan Masood suddenly finds himself in a battle for the captaincy so soon after assuming it, having lost each of the four Tests he's been in charge. While flashes of quality against Australia over the winter meant the overall result could potentially be overlooked in favour of a long-term plan, such forgiveness will not come if Pakistan drop a home series against Bangladesh. With a busy time ahead that includes the sterner challenges of England and South Africa, ensuring they avoid handing this Test trophy over next week remains the bare minimum for this red-ball side to retain credibility with its supporters.

Pakistan’s first ever loss to Bangladesh under his captaincy and an underwhelming personal run of scores means he’s fast approaching the end of an already short rope. It’s not easy being Shan Masood right now. He has lost his first four Tests as captain, the first Pakistani captain to start so losingly. This most recent defeat is, by most measures, the most seismic: a first to Bangladesh, that too at home, that too on a pancake-flat pitch, that too having lost half a day to rain, that too with nearly a session and a half to spare, and that too, by ten wickets. The kind of loss that stays on a CV.

After the defeat he tried to explain some of Pakistan’s missteps – and maybe we put this down to post-hoc shock – but it was all slightly frazzled. They picked four fast bowlers because what if one got injured. They didn’t think about a final-day scenario because of the weather forecast. Bangladesh’s inside edges went for four, Pakistan’s hit the stumps. They declared too soon.

There was also a double batting failure, which, in any final reckoning, will weigh heaviest. Because the only currency of the Pakistan captaincy (and probably captaincy anywhere) is personal performance. Keep that up and it is the realest, quickest way to establish authority.

Just ask Misbah-ul-Haq. Misbah’s ascension to Test captaincy was, at the time, as unexpected as Masood’s. Misbah was averaging 33 in Tests and out of the side when appointed. Masood was in the side but averaging 28 when he replaced Babar Azam last year. Misbah began with a run of eight fifties and one hundred in his first 12 innings as captain and all the critics shut up real quick.

By contrast, Masood has a couple of fifties, a couple of starts, plenty of coulda beens, in his first eight innings, which has only amplified the doubts about his Test batting. It is part of a longer underwhelming run. Since he hit a career-best 156 against England in Manchester four years ago, Masood has been averaging less than 19 in 13 Tests (when Misbah took over, he came in averaging 24 in the nine Tests before it).

It has been, in truth, an underwhelming career, some of it down to Masood, some of it to the capriciousness of Pakistani selection: it takes both to stitch together a staccato career of 34 Tests in 11 years. Ultimately, though, his record will fall on him. Now heap the losses as captain on top and you can see where this is heading. If he doesn’t score runs in Rawalpindi this week and Pakistan fail to win, his captaincy and place in the side become untenable. If he doesn’t score runs but Pakistan win, he may buy himself a little bit of time. If he scores runs and Pakistan wins, then perhaps the pressure eases a touch until England arrive.

All of which is a shame. There’s always been much to like about Masood, the willingness to reinvent himself, to learn, to try and improve his game. And all told, he made a decent fist of his first series as captain, where, with better catching, Pakistan might even have won a first Test in Australia in nearly 30 years. He was more proactive than Babar. He batted like he wanted his side to play (though never for long enough). He squeezed more than could be expected out of a weakened bowling attack. If ever a captain comes out of a whitewash with a little credit, it was here. In sport, however, credit doesn’t last long and the line may soon be at an end for Masood.

ABOUT THE WRITER
Shahzeb Ali Rizvi is a sports aficionado with a keen eye for the intricacies of cricket and football. He can be reached at [email protected]