Pakistan's white-ball head coach Mike Hesson criticised the Mirpur pitch after his team's crushing loss to Bangladesh in the first T20I on Sunday. Frustrated by the nature of the surface at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, Hesson called the pitch unacceptable for international cricket and said such conditions do not help teams preparing for big events like the Asia Cup and World Cup.
Pakistan, batting first, were bowled out for a mere 110 in 19.3 overs, which is their lowest ever T20I total against Bangladesh. Fakhar Zaman was the only batter who looked comfortable, scoring 44 runs off 34 balls. He got run-out. The rest of the batting line-up collapsed. Taskin Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers for Bangladesh, taking three wickets.
In reply, Bangladesh made light work of the chase, getting to the target in just 15.3 overs and winning by seven wickets. It was a dominant all-round performance by the hosts, who now lead the three-match series 1-0.
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Mike Hesson Calls Out Sub-Par Mirpur Pitch After Bangladesh Thrash Pakistan
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Hesson said the pitch was unsuitable for an international match, especially when teams are preparing for global tournaments.
"It [the pitch] is not helpful for anybody. If people are trying to prepare for the Asia Cup or World Cup, that is not acceptable. The pitch is not an excuse for some of the decisions we made with the bat, but that pitch is not up to international standards for sure," Hesson said as quoted in the post-match press conference.
He stated that such conditions do more harm than good and could backfire on Bangladesh as well when their players go abroad and are exposed to truer, batting-friendly surfaces.
"It [the pitch] does not help them when they leave Bangladesh. Batting first in those situations is challenging. You aren’t quite sure whether 100 is good enough—or 130, 150. When you go away and play on flatter surfaces, you can get exposed. I don’t think it is good for anybody," Hesson added.
Hesson said the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) has seen better pitches in the same venue, raising questions over why international matches do not see similar standards.
"To develop cricketers, you want good cricket wickets. Even during the BPL (Bangladesh Premier League), there have been some really good cricket wickets here (Mirpur). It is just when, often when you play internationals, they are not quite up to that standard."
Hesson also broke down Pakistan’s batting collapse and said the early momentum given by Zaman might have led to misreading of the conditions by the rest of the batters.
"We got off to a little bit of a flier, and that probably was more due to the fact that Fakhar Zaman played four or five shots. That probably gave a bit of a false indication as to how the surface was playing. We didn’t help ourselves through the middle. We chose some poor options. When the ball started to nip through, and bounce steeply, we didn’t assess that it was a bit more challenging and then took some high-risk shots. And then a couple of run outs through the middle certainly didn’t help," Hesson opined.
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Bangladesh Opener Parvez Hossain Emon Defends the Pitch
Bangladesh opener Parvez Hossain Emon, who was named Man of the Match for his unbeaten fifty in the first T20I, offered a completely different perspective when asked about Hesson’s criticism. He asserted that Bangladesh adjusted better and made the most of the conditions.
"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 so that they couldn't adjust to the pitch. We adjusted better than them. The Dhaka pitch usually benefits the bowlers. We tried to assess the wicket quickly. It was our first plan," Emon stated.
With the series on the line, Pakistan, led by Agha Salman, will look to bounce back in the second T20I scheduled on July 22 at the same venue. While Bangladesh will be confident after their clinical display in the series-opener, the visiting side will hope for a better showing with the bat and perhaps a more even surface to level the series.
Also read: Bangladesh vs Pakistan Dream11 Prediction: Pakistan tour of Bangladesh 2025, 2nd T20I
