Najmul Hossain and Mominul Haque struck centuries to put Bangladesh firmly on course for a win in the one-off Test against Afghanistan, after the hosts posted an astonishing 662-run target on Friday. Najmul backed up his earlier 146 with a further 124, becoming only the second batter for Bangladesh to score a hundred in both innings of a Test. Mominul, the first Bangladeshi to achieve the same milestone, remained unbeaten on 121 as Bangladesh declared their second innings at 425 for 4.
Afghanistan managed 11 overs for 45 runs before the match was halted on Day 3 due to bad light, leaving them trailing by 617 runs with two days still remaining. With the deficit this large, Afghanistan would need a remarkable turnaround to pull off an unlikely victory. Adding to their problems, their captain Hashmatullah Shahidi was forced to retire hurt after a bouncer from fast bowler Taskin Ahmed struck him on the head.
Bangladesh’s batters were able to punish the loose deliveries that came their way after resuming on Day 3 at 134 for 1, while Afghanistan’s bowling unit struggled to generate meaningful chances. Zakir Hasan, the opener, struck 71 off 95 balls before being run out in pursuit of a third run, ending a 173-run partnership for the second wicket.
After initially playing with a limited-overs tempo, Najmul reached his fourth Test century from 115 balls. He then nudged occasional bowler Hashmatullah Shahidi behind square for a single. Left-arm wrist spinner Zahir Khan provided a brief interruption by taking two wickets in the space of three deliveries, but Bangladesh’s momentum had already been firmly established.
Following Zahir’s burst, Shanto was dismissed when he clipped a delivery to short midwicket. Mushfiqur Rahim then miscued a reverse sweep, with the error coming after he had struck a six on the previous ball.
With the declaration looming, Mominul and Liton Das ensured Afghanistan received little to no respite. Mominul drove a short ball from pacer Yamin Ahmadzai over the wicketkeeper for a boundary to move to his 12th Test century. Liton, who was unbeaten on 66 at the time of the captaincy debut, added his 16th half-century as well, finding the boundary through fine leg off Zahir.
Paceman Shoriful Islam struck immediately, taking the breakthrough with his very first ball by trapping Ibrahim Zadran lbw for a duck. Abdul Malik then edged a Taskin delivery behind the wicket as Bangladesh’s total moved from one setback to another, losing two wickets for seven runs during the second over. Rahmat Shah was on 10 with Nasir Jamal on 5 when the innings progressed, after which Bangladesh had already set the huge platform with a first-innings score of 382, before bowling Afghanistan out for 146.
