Bangladesh’s Najmul Hossain Shanto. Photo: Firoz Ahmed
Despite the wicket of Mahmudul Hasan Joy in the second session, Bangladesh remained in a position of strength on the opening day of their one-off Test against Afghanistan at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.
The Tigers lost only a solitary wicket in the afternoon session, that of Joy (76 off 137 deliveries), as they reached 235 for two after 49 overs at tea. The Tigers scored runs thick and fast, amassing 119 runs in the 25 overs bowled in the second session. Najmul Hossain Shanto notched his third Test ton and remains unbeaten on 126 off 151 deliveries with Mominul Haque not out on 11 off 14.
Joy chased a wide tossed-up delivery from leg spinner Rahmat Shah only to edge it back to the first slip for an easy catch. The wicket ended a massive 212-run second-wicket stand between Joy and Najmul Hossain Shanto — the second-highest partnership for the wicket for Bangladesh in Tests.
The highest second-wicket partnership in Tests for Bangladesh remains the 232-run stand between Imrul Kayes and Shamsur Rahman against Sri Lanka in 2014 in Chattogram.
Other than the wicket of Joy, nothing has gone Afghanistan’s way in the latest session of the Test. Shanto, who has played aggressively since coming on to bat early in the morning, only ratcheted up the scoring rate once he reached the three-figure mark in 118 deliveries.
Wayward bowling by the Afghans only helped the Bangladesh batters, with Shanto taking the most advantage of the situation. Unafraid to swing his bat, Shanto has smashed a total of 21 boundaries and a solitary six that came off a full toss from leggie Zahir Khan.
