BAN vs AFG | Najmul Shanto Century Gives Bangladesh Opening Day Advantage
Najmul Shanto and Hasan Joy on Day 1 (Twitter)
Bangladesh batters enrolled themselves onto Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla pitch to pile up 362 runs on the opening day of their one-off Test against Afghanistan.
Earlier, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and had opted to field first, a decision he might rue considering how Day 1 panned out for the visitors.
Najmul Shanto’s ton gives Bangladesh Day 1 honours
Afghanistan’s new-ball pacer Nijat Masood removed Bangladesh opener Zakir Hasan off the first ball on his Test debut. Later, Hasan’s opening partner Mahmudul Hasan Joy launched a counter-attacking 212-run stand with number three Najmul Hossain Shanto.
Joy notched up 76 to register his third Test fifty, while Shanto unleashed his third Test century with a majestic 146. The dynamic left-hander struck 23 boundaries and two sixes in his 175-ball knock, and maintained a strike-rate of above 80 throughout his innings.
Mominul Haque and newly-appointed Test captain Litton Das failed to capitalise on the big second-wicket partnership, as their quick dismissals ensured Bangladesh were five down at 290.
However, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mehidy Hasan Miraz steadied team’s ship thereafter with unbeaten 40s to ensure no further casualty for Bangladesh before stumps.
The hosts faced 79 overs throughout the day to amass 362-5, and maintained a healthy run-rate of 4.58. Their nifty ball-striking resulted in four Afghan bowlers conceding above five runs an over, with spinner Zahir Khan being the most expensive one (98 runs from 16 overs) despite registering a wicket to his name.
Brief Scores:
Bangladesh: 362-5 (79)
Najmul Hossain Shanto 146 (175), Mahmudul Hasan Joy 76 (137)
Nijat Masood 2-67 (13), Rahmat Shah 1-30 (6)
Afghanistan won the toss and opted to field first
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