Mirpur [Bangladesh], June 17 : After clinching the biggest victory of the decade of 546 runs, Bangladesh batter Najmul Shanto was overjoyed by his batting against Afghanistan in the one-off test at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.
Najmul smashed a hundred in the first innings of the match. He scored 146 off 175 balls.
"I am really happy with the way I batted. We (himself and Mominul) were talking about the record after I got to the hundred, he (Mominul) said welcome to the group. It is a good opportunity for the batters to bat on such a wicket and happy to see the bowlers bowl well. As a player we have to perform in all the formats and I was clear with my plans," Najmul said after the press conference.
This 546-run win was the third-biggest by the margin of runs for a Test nation, and the biggest win by the margin of runs in this century. This is also the biggest win in such a manner for an Asian side.
England has the biggest margin (by runs) in a victory. They won against Australia in 1928 by 675 runs. At second is Australia, who registered a 562-run win against England in 1934.
Bangladesh did not put a foot wrong after being asked to bat first at Mirpur on day one of the Test by Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi. A big century from Najmul Hossain Shanto (146) and half-century Mahmudul Hasan Joy (76) led their charge in the first innings, as the Tigers posted 382 in their first innings.
In response, Afghanistan could muster merely 146, with Afsar Zazai's 36 being the highest score. Bangladesh pacers Ebadot Hossain (4/47) and Shoriful Islam (2/28) took crucial top-order wickets. They trailed in the match by 236 runs at that point.
Bangladesh's aggressive batting in their second dig furthered the advantage of the 236-run lead. Shanto (124), Mominul Haque (121 unbeaten), Zakir Hasan (71) and Litton Das (66 unbeaten) helped their team declare at 425/4 in merely 80 overs. With this, they set their opponents a mammoth target of 662 runs.
Afghanistan was even worse in their second effort with the bat and was bowled out for merely 115. Bangladesh's charge was led by their pacers, Taskin Ahmed (4/37) and Islam (3/28), once more. Rahmat Shah (30) was the only batter who could cross the 20-run mark. Karim Janat (18) and skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi (13) were the two other batters who touched double digits.
Shanto earned the 'Player of the Match' award for his twin centuries.
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