Pakistan Blames Dhaka Pitch After Crushing Defeat to Bangladesh

July 21, 2025: Pakistan’s head coach Mike Hesson has voiced strong disapproval of the pitch at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka after his team’s seven-wicket thrashing by Bangladesh in the opening T20I on Sunday, July 20, 2025.

Pakistan were bowled out for a paltry 110 in the final over after being asked to bat first, a target Bangladesh chased down comfortably in 15.3 overs, finishing at 111/3.

Hesson unequivocally stated that the pitch “is not ideal for anybody” and “is not up to international standards,” particularly with teams trying to prepare for upcoming tournaments like the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup. He highlighted that Pakistan were reduced to 46 for 5 by the eighth over, with many batters losing their wickets attempting high-risk shots, and compounded their woes with three run-outs.

“We got off to a little bit of a flyer. Fakhar Zaman played four or five shots. It gave us a false indication about how the surface was playing,” Hesson explained in the post-match press conference. “We didn’t help ourselves through the middle. We chose some poor options. When the ball started to nip through and bounce steeply, we probably didn’t assess that it was a bit more challenging to play high-risk shots. A couple of run-outs also didn’t help.”

However, Bangladesh’s captain Litton Das and Player of the Match, opener Parvez Hossain Emon (who scored an unbeaten 56), dismissed Hesson’s complaints.⁴ They asserted that their familiarity with the Mirpur wicket, which typically aids bowlers, allowed them to adapt better.

“We definitely know about the wicket because we played lots of cricket in Mirpur. It’s not an easy wicket to bat on, but the way we batted, it looks good,” said Litton Das, attributing the easier batting in the second innings potentially to dew.⁵ He also emphasized their effective bowling and early wickets as key factors.

Emon echoed this sentiment, stating, “We didn’t feel (it was a bad pitch) as we chased it down in less than 16 overs. We could have scored 150-160 runs if we batted the full 20 overs. It may be that they couldn’t adjust to the pitch. We adjusted better than they did.”

Pakistan’s innings saw Fakhar Zaman top-scoring with 44, while Mohammad Abbas Afridi (22) and Khushdil Shah (17) were the only other batsmen to reach double figures. Bangladesh, on the other hand, saw a crucial 73-run partnership between Parvez Hossain Emon and Towhid Hridoy (36) after losing two early wickets.

Bangladesh will look to seal the three-match series when they face Pakistan again at the same venue on Tuesday, July 22, 2025.