Galle Test: Najmul Hossain Shanto scripts history with twin tons
What's the story
Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto has rewritten the record books by completing a solid hundred on Day 5 of the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. The southpaw slammed his second hundred of the game, having scored a fine 148 in the first innings. This was the second occasion of Shanto slamming twin hundreds in a Test match. Let's decode his records.
Knock
Shanto's brilliance in third innings
The likes of Anamul Haque (4) and Mominul Haque (14) were dismissed cheaply in the third innings before opener Shadman Islam (76) and Shanto added 68 runs. The former got another potent partner in Mushfiqur Rahim (49) as the duo added 109 runs. Shanto, who was unbeaten on 56* at Day 4 stumps, brought up another hundred on Day 5 morning.
Details
First Bangladesh batter with this feat
As mentioned, this was the second instance of Shanto scripting two hundreds in a Test, having slammed 146 and 124 in the 2023 Mirpur Test versus Afghanistan. Mominul is the only other Bangladesh batter to accomplish twin tons in a Test (176 and 105 vs SL in Chittagong, 2018). Hence, Shanto is the first Bangladesh batter to accomplish this milestone on multiple occasions.
Details
Shanto returned unbeaten on 125
Shanto returned unbeaten on 125 off 199 balls as Bangladesh declared their third innings at 285/6. SL now need 296 runs to win this game in around 35 overs. Earlier in the match, Bangladesh batted first and scored a mammoth 495/10. In reply, Sri Lanka suffered a lower-order collapse but managed to score 485/10, giving Bangladesh a slender 10-run lead.
Hundred
7th Test ton for Shanto
This was Shanto's seventh Test ton. Playing his 36th Test, the southpaw has raced to 2,162 runs as he averages 32.74. The tally includes six fifties as well as 163 is his best score. He now owns 505 runs across seven Tests against SL at 42.08 (100: 3). This was also his third hundred across six innings on SL soil.