After losing the first Test match against Bangladesh, Shan Masood speaks out against the declaration call and 4-pacer tactics, saying, "Funny things can happen."

Shan Masood talked about the four-pacer strategy and early declaration decision following Pakistan's humiliating first-Test loss to Bangladesh.

In the opening Test of the two-game series, Bangladesh defeated Pakistan at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, making history. After 13 meetings, Bangladesh has never triumphed over Pakistan prior to this one. 

Pakistan's chances of making it to the World Test Championship final were severely damaged by the 10-wicket setback at home. After the loss, captain Shan Masood spoke about the team's widely criticized decision to field four pacers in the Rawalpindi stadium. 

Pakistan had declared their first innings at 448 for six, and he gave the rationale for that decision. Pakistan fielded four pacers in their lineup because they thought the Rawalpindi pitch would favour fast bowlers. Bangladesh, on the other hand, had six alternatives for excellent spin bowling.

In the end, the spinners turned out to be the decisive element after five days of play. The bowling numbers of both teams' fast bowlers were comparable; Pakistan's bowlers edged over Bangladesh's by nine wickets. However, nine of the 16 wickets that Pakistan lost in five days were grabbed by Bangladesh's spinners. With just 146 runs scored when Pakistan was bowled out for seven of these wickets, Bangladesh had a target of just thirty runs. 

Pakistan misread the pitch, Masood admitted in the post-match conference.

"Never offer an explanation for why the pitch didn't perform as expected. In addition, the weather in Rawalpindi and Islamabad was rainy for eight or nine days before to the first day of competition. First, based on the pitch, we had anticipated a little bit more from it. They were going to be stretched to the breaking point with three pace bowlers. Ultimately, we made a mistake," Masood remarked.

Masood went on to talk about Pakistan's choice to end their opening innings at 448 for six. This proclamation turned out to be incorrect, as Bangladesh easily exceeded this amount on Day 4, scoring 565 runs.

"In retrospect, after reading the declaration, we realized that we wanted to advance the game. We could have done a better job keeping them at par with the ball and on the field as well. It's untrue, given how much work it was supposed to require. Funny things might happen while you are playing for a draw. A lot can occur when things are tight. We need to improve when we play again because we made mistakes," he continued.

The loss in Rawalpindi has hurt Pakistan's chances of making it to the World Test Championship championship match. Before the series started, Masood had stated that he wanted to take Pakistan to their first-ever WTC final. Pakistan had five home Test matches, three of which were against England, to strengthen their position. With a PCT of 30.56, their most recent defeat has pushed them to the eighth position in the points standings. The last game of Pakistan's series against Bangladesh is set to take place in Rawalpindi on August 30.