Shanto's twin century helps Bangladesh swell lead to 491 against Afghanistan

Shanto remained not out on 112, having struck 14 fours in his 133-ball stay

Lunch Bangladesh 382 and 255 for 2 (Shanto 112*, Zakir 71, Hamza 1-33) lead Afghanistan 146 (Zazai 36, Jamal 35, Ebadot 4-47) by 491 runs

DHAKA – Najmul Hossain Shanto hit unbeaten century to guide Bangladesh to 255-2 in their second innings at lunch on the third day in the one-off Test against Afghanistan here on Friday.

The third morning was all about Shanto reaching his second century in the Dhaka Test against Afghanistan. He became the second Bangladeshi to reach this milestone. The man who did it previously, Mominul Haque, was at the other end, congratulating Shanto. 

He scored 146 runs in the first innings.

In the process, Bangladesh's lead swelled to 491 runs at lunch. During the morning interview, coach Chandika Hathurusinghe said that they wouldn't mind batting out the third day since this is a one-off Test.

The only blemish for the home side was Zakir Hasan’s run out, which ended his promise of a century on 71. The pair added 173 runs - the first instance of two century stands for the second wicket in each innings of a Test for Bangladesh.

Shanto remained not out on 112, having struck 14 fours in his 133-ball stay. Mominul was unbeaten on 43 off 52 balls. Bangladesh kept up the brisk run-rate, adding 121 runs in 25 overs in the morning session.

Shanto took a couple of overs to get going but his first boundary was a straight drive that blended strength and poise. He used similar power to pull Yamin Ahmadzai for consecutive fours, before Zakir got two fours of his own. Shanto remained the enforcer at the other end, hitting the spinners Amir Hamza and Zahir Khan for a four each to take him into the nineties.

For the second time in the match, Bangladesh lost their second wicket - after a big partnership - against the run of play. Zakir ran himself out after calling for a third run, without properly gauging the speed of the throw from the boundary. Nasir Jamal had saved the Shanto shot from getting to the boundary, but he had relayed the throw to Ibrahim Zadran as Zakir fell short at the striker's end.

Except for a hiccup of about 4.5 overs, Bangladesh also ruled day two. Ebadot Hossain took four wickets using the short ball after Shoriful Islam picked up Zadran and Hashmatullah Shahidi either side of the lunch break. Ebadot removed Abdul Malik and Rahmat Shah in his first spell, and later added Afsar Zazai and Hamza's wickets to his tally.

Only a 65-run fifth-wicket stand between Zazai and Nasir Jamal held up Bangladesh's attack but Mehidy Hasan Miraz broke the partnership. Taijul Islam and Mehidy mopped up the tail cheaply. Afghanistan fell 236 runs behind although their fast bowlers had given them a good start to the day.

Nijat Masood took 5-79 on Test debut while Yamin Ahmadzai picked up two wickets as Bangladesh slipped from 373 for five to be bowled out for 382 in the first innings. But neither the fast bowling pair nor the spinners could stem the Bangladesh batters in the second innings. Shanto and Zakir scored at 5.52 per over for 21 overs at stumps on the second evening. – Courtesy