5 instances when Bangladesh lost a Test from a position of strength

#1 Against Pakistan at Multan, 2003

Skipper Khaled Mahmud and his troops nearly beat Pakistan in 2003

Loss Margin – 1 wicket

On their tour to Pakistan back in 2003, Bangladesh missed out on what would have been their greatest achievement in the Test arena. It was the 3^rd Test of a 3-match series and the hosts had already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Bangladesh scored 281 in their first innings, courtesy of a solid 72 from Habibul Bashar and a gritty 49 by Rajin Saleh. But it was their bowling attack that took everyone by surprise as they bowled out the Pakistanis for only 175 and took a 106-run lead.

The batsmen failed to build on the advantage and could manage just 154, leaving the hosts a target of 261 to achieve in the 4^th innings. The task, though, did not turn out to be as easy as it looked for Pakistan as they were 7 down for 164 at one stage during their chase.

However, skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq was the only one who was standing tall among the ruins, determined not to allow his team to suffer the ignominy of losing to a much weaker side. He eventually succeeded in the task, scoring an unbeaten 138 in a thrilling 1-wicket victory for the Pakistanis.

For Bangladesh, on the other hand, it was another opportunity lost for proving their mettle to the cricketing world.