Pakistan had gone in without a specialist spinner in the first Test of the two-match series, at Rawalpindi. On the same pitch, they first conceded a 117-run lead, and were then bowled out for 146 by the Bangladesh spinners, Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

Bangladesh went on to win their first ever Test match against Pakistan, that too by a 10-wicket margin. Mehidy followed a patient 77 with 4-21 in the third innings. Had he taken one more wicket, Mehidy would have become the second Bangladeshi to score a fifty and take a five-wicket haul in the same Test match.

Shakib, of course, was the first, and he had done it twice. There is nothing surprising about that. Over his illustrious career, Shakib has established himself as the greatest cricketer in the history of Bangladesh cricket. Had he had more Test matches (he has played only 68 in 17 years), there is little doubt that he would have had a career to match the greatest all-rounders of all time.

But let us return to Mehidy. In the second Test match, at the same venue, Mehidy began with 5-61 after his captain opted to field – in other words, in conditions expected to assist seam.

Bangladeshi spinners are not new to five-wicket hauls, even in the first innings of a Test match, but these were the second-best figures away from home, keeping all other conditions intact. Mehidy pushed his own 5-93 at Kingston in 2018 at third place. Only Taijul Islam (6-135 at Gqeberha in 2022) has done better.

In their 24-year Test cricket history, Mehidy is now the only Bangladesh bowler – spin or pace – with 10 wickets in three separate away Test series. There must have been raised eyebrows when he was preferred ahead of the venerable Taijul for this side. If his batting had tilted the odds in his favour, his bowling certainly vindicated the decision.

But his job was far from done, for the Bangladesh top order caved in in spectacular fashion on the third morning. This was familiar territory for him. In the first Test, he had come out when Bangladesh trailed by 116 with four wickets in hand. Here, it was worse, for Mehidy came out at 26-6. The ignominy of a sub-50 total was not improbable.

Mehidy eventually departed for 78, adding 165 for the seventh wicket with Litton Das. The away-fifty-five-for double that had eluded him last week was his now. He became the second member of a Shakib-only club.

This is arguably the crème de la crème of Mehidy’s already brilliant Test career. His 174 wickets have come at 32.58 and his 1,625 runs at 22.56, but one needs to delve deeper into these numbers.

Since the start of 2023, for example, his 483 runs have come at 48.30 and his 28 wickets at 26.46 – the numbers of a specialist in either department. Over the same span, the only cricketer with more runs and more wickets than Mehidy is Ravindra Jadeja. And while Jadeja averages better with the ball (21.46), his batting average (34.20) is nowhere close.

What about Shakib? In his four appearances over this period (including two in the ongoing series), he has 155 runs at 31.00 and 11 wickets at 32.81. While he has been active in limited-overs formats around the world, Test cricket has not been his priority. It has been a trend for all-format players.

With Shakib’s Test match appearances almost certain to become more sporadic over time, Bangladesh needed an heir to him. In ODIs, they made their intentions clear by promoting Mehidy up the order in 2023, using him as a floater. As Shakib, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Mahmudullah walk away from the sport in the years to come, there is little doubt that Mehidy will rise up the order again and find a place amidst the next-generation specialist batters.

What about Test cricket? As we have seen, Mehidy’s overall numbers aren't exceptional, but his form is. The ongoing Test match is the 45th of Mehidy’s career. After 45 Tests, Shakib averaged 40.85 with the bat and 32.45 with the ball. The bowling numbers may be identical, but even if one considers their respective batting positions, the difference in batting averages is too high for comparison.

Perhaps the batting average will go up in the post-Shakib-Mushfiqur era, once Mehidy finds a position where he can get the big hundreds to boost his numbers. Perhaps the added workload will affect his bowling. Perhaps it will not. Being a world-class all-rounder is never easy.

Until then, Bangladesh will be happy to have both all-rounders together. As Mehidy himself said after the second day’s play, “When we play together, the team gets two batters and two bowlers.”

All numbers updated up to day three, Pakistan-Bangladesh second Test, 2024

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