Salman Agha on PAK vs BAN. Image Credits: BCB/AFP
Salman Ali Agha, Pakistani all-rounder’s, words have come back to bite him after his team finished on the losing end against Bangladesh in the first Test that was played in Mirpur, Dhaka, on May 12, 2026.
Agha had thrown a bizarre challenge to Bangladesh before day five of the first Test as he firmly believed that Pakistan would overcome any target that Bangladesh might set for them. But with Bangladesh humbling them, Agha’s words have mocked him back.
Bangladesh defeats Pakistan by 104 runs in the first Test
Pakistan captain Shan Masood had won the toss and chose to bowl first at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur. Bangladesh lost their opener early, but Mominul Haque (91) and captain Najmul Hossain Shanto (101) stabilized the innings with a 170-run partnership. Mushfiqur Rahim also made 71 as Bangladesh posted 413 in their first innings, with Mohammad Abbas taking 5/92.
In response, Pakistan posted 386 runs in the first innings, with debutant Azan Awais scoring 103, Abdullah Fazal making 60, and Salman Agha and Mohammad Rizwan also scoring fifties. For Bangladesh, Mehidy Hasan Miraz took 5/102 runs.
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Salman Ali Agha challenges Bangladesh to declare and post a target of 270 runs
As the game headed into day five, Salman Ali Agha threw a challenge to Bangladesh. He stated that Pakistan would back themselves to chase a target of about 260 in 70 overs if Bangladesh had the audacity to do so. Pakistan would want to bowl the Tigers out as soon as possible on the last day, he continued, adding that the game is finely poised.
"Right now you can't say who has the upper hand in this game. And tomorrow will be an exciting day of Test cricket. We just want to get them out as quickly as we can. That's what our strategy is going to be. I don't know about the rest,” Salman said in the press conference after the day’s play. Definitely, we will go for the win. If they are brave enough to do that—give us 70 overs and 260—we will definitely go for the chase. But I don't think they will do that,” Salman said.
However, Salman stated that if Pakistan were in Bangladesh's shoes, they would first try to get a huge total and eliminate the opposition.
"If we (Pakistan) were in this position, we would have tried to do that (post a big total), and we just make sure to take them out of the game and then give them whatever target we want to give them," Salman said.
Bangladesh takes Salman Agha’s challenge and defeats Pakistan in grand style
It seems like Bangladesh took Salman Agha’s challenge head on. Mominul Haque (56) and Najmul Hossain Shanto (87) led the way as Bangladesh hammered the Pakistani bowlers to score 240/9 and declared their innings. Hasan Ali and Noman Ali took three wickets each.
Bangladesh’s blitz helped them set a 268-run target for Pakistan. And Nahid Rana led the way for his team, taking 5/40. He got good support from Taskin Ahmed and Taijul Islam as Pakistan batters seemed in trouble during their chase.
Abdullah Fazal’s 66 was the top scorer for Pakistan as other batters failed miserably and the visitors were bowled out for 163 runs and lost the first Test by 104 runs. Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was named the Player of the Match for his 101 and 87 runs in the match.
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