'I had to bat with more responsibility' - Mominul takes responsibility for top-order failure

The scorecard will not suggest how closely contested the game was, at least until the second session of day four. By the end of the third day, Bangladesh had won five sessions, one more than Pakistan. But a collapse in the second innings was always on the cards given Bangladesh's history and that was the reason behind Bangladesh's rather disappointing loss after taking a first-innings lead.

The first time Bangladesh took a first-innings lead in Tests was in 2003 against Pakistan in Peshawar. But Pakistan won that match easily following Bangladesh's dismal batting display in the second innings, like this match. History just repeated itself.

There were some brilliant performances from Bangladeshi players in the match - Liton Das top-scoring in both innings, Mushfiqur scoring a focused 91 and Taijul Islam taking seven wickets in the first innings - but the top-order's abysmal performance and lack of penetration from the bowlers meant Bangladesh couldn't sustain the momentum they got after being 44 runs ahead in the first innings. 

"We - from number one to four - failed. I, in particular, had to bat with more responsibility," said Bangladesh skipper Mominul Haque in the post-match press conference. "In any format, if you lose four wickets in no time, you cannot post big totals no matter how hard you try."

Pakistan openers - Abid Ali and Abdullah Shafique - put on 146 and 151 in the first and second innings respectively, something that Bangladesh lacked. Shadman Islam and Saif Hassan struggled a lot against the searing pace of Pakistani opening bowlers. 

"That made the difference," admitted Mominul.

"If you lose four wickets for 40 (49) in the first innings and a similar score (25) in the second, it's difficult to come back. If someone from the top-order batted well, it could've been a different story."

"Except for me, the rest of the batters at the top-order were inexperienced. Only I had the experience of playing more than 40 Tests. So I am taking the responsibility of the failure of our top-order," he added.

The teams will get a three-day break before the beginning of the second Test in Mirpur. The Bangladesh skipper mentioned that the top-order batters need to get back into good shape mentally before the match.

"There is nothing you can rectify in these two days. I think the batters need to keep themselves mentally fit and think about the aspects they have to work on. By being mentally strong to face these bowlers, they can overcome failure," said the skipper. 

Taijul Islam bowled 72.4 overs in this match and picked up eight wickets including a seven-for in the first innings. Mominul applauded his effort. "Taijul's seven wicket-haul is one of the major takeaways for us from this match. He has improved a lot over the last year and a half."

"I believe it's important for the pacers to learn how to bowl on flat decks. For this, they have to play more four-day games. In India, pacers play a lot of first-class matches. Our pacers have to do so and learn the art of bowling on unresponsive pitches," added Mominul. 

Pakistan fast bowlers were outstanding to say the least. They found a considerable amount of swing and that coupled with the high pace made life difficult for the batters. "The way Bangladesh played in the first innings was really good but Shaheen and Hasan were outstanding," said Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain.

"That's the beauty of Test cricket that it allows you to make a comeback. We didn't have much time to prepare for the Test but we gave our best. I am really pleased with the way Abdullah Shafique built his innings. Abid Ali was outstanding, scoring tough runs to pull the team out from a difficult position," he added.

The second Test between the two teams will begin on 4 December in Mirpur.