Mirpur [Bangladesh], June 17 : Following their record-winning win over Afghanistan in the one-off Test, Bangladesh skipper Litton Das expressed happiness with his team's all-round performance, Najmul Hossain Shanto in particular, who scored back-to-back centuries.
On the fourth day of their one-off Test against Afghanistan at Mirpur on Saturday, Bangladesh secured a 546-run win against their Asian rivals, creating a record in the process that would most likely stay untouched for years.
"I am very happy with the way boys played the whole game. The weather was very hot and it was not easy, credit goes to our batters especially Shanto. The way the bowlers bowled in this heat it was amazing to see. We have good quality of pacers and spinners too," said Litton in a post-match presentation.
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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