"If we played three fast bowlers and lost one through injury, we could have been like 'why didn't we play that fourth fast bowler?" - Shan Masood

Pakistan skipper Shan Masood has defended the decision to go with an all-out pace attack for the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. Unfortunately, the move backfired as Pakistan suffered a shocking 10-wicket loss to fall 0-1 behind in the two-match series.

The visitors piled on a massive 565 in their first innings with the four Pakistan pacers bowling 117.3 overs between them. However, despite leaving out a specialist spin option, Pakistan bowled the part-time spin of Agha Salman, Saim Ayub, and Saud Shakeel for 50 overs.

Speaking at the press conference post-game, Masood opened up about going for an all-out pace attack.

"The fast bowler was played looking at the extreme weather conditions where we could help each other share the load. Naseem and Shaheen hadn't played Test cricket for a while and Pakistan haven't played Test cricket for 10 months. If we played three fast bowlers and lost one through injury, we could have been like 'why didn't we play that fourth fast bowler?," said Masood.

He added:

"Hindsight is always 20/20; you can always fit the spinner in, but you have to look at the full balance of the side. You need seven people that can bat properly and four frontline bowlers with a little help here or there."

To make matters worse for Pakistan, the Bangladesh spinners combined to take seven of the 10 wickets in the second innings to help them win by 10 wickets.

It was Pakistan's fourth consecutive Test defeat after Masood took over as Test captain at the end of last year.

"On the first four days, we were the ones that were very proactive" - Shan Masood

Shan Masood said there was no panic in the Pakistan ranks despite the shocking first Test defeat to Bangladesh, considering how they made all the plays for most of the contest.

The Rawalpindi loss was Pakistan's first against Bangladesh in the red-ball format in 14 outings.

"Even if you lose, it doesn't mean you've done everything wrong. On the first four days, we were the ones that were very proactive, we were trying to take decisions, we declared quite early, we scored at a quicker rate, at around four runs an over. Those things don't count at the end of the day when you lose the game," said Masood in the presser.

Pakistan declared their first innings on 448/6 in the hope of forcing a result. However, their second-inning total of 146 proved costly as Bangladesh required only 30 runs to win the contest.

The two teams will play the series finale with Bangladesh leading by an unassailable 1-0 at the same venue, starting August 30.