Dhaka: Twin hundreds by NajmulHossainShanto along with a strong collective bowling effort helped Bangladesh register a historic 546-run win over Afghanistan on Day 4 of the one-off Test at the Shere Bangla Stadium, on Saturday.
The 546-run victory margin is Bangladesh’s best in Tests in terms of runs and the third-best overall in Test history. It is also the biggest margin of victory since the 20th century in red-ball cricket.
Resuming the day at 45/2, Afghanistan needed something miraculous to even take the game deep into the fourth day, let alone drag the match into Day 5. In the end, a session all Afghanistan could manage as they were bowled out for merely 115. Bangladesh’s charge was led by their pacers, Taskin Ahmed (4/37) and Islam (3/28).
Only three Afghanistan batters got to double figures in the second innings as Bangladesh had a near-perfect Test match right from the time they opted to bat on the first day.
Brief scores: Bangladesh 382 (Shanto 146, Zakir 76; Masood 5-79) and 425/4 decl (Shanto 124, Mominul 121 not out, Zakir 71) beat Afghanistan 146 (Zazai 36, Jamal 35; Ebadot 4-47) and 115 (Rahmat 30, Taskin 4-37, Shoriful 3-28) by 546 runs.
