Shanto ton stretches Bangladesh's lead past 200 against New Zealand
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Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto struck a brilliant century to push Bangladesh’s lead to 205 against New Zealand on the third day of the Sylhet Test.
Shanto (104 not out) partnered up with Mushfiqur Rahim (43 not out) for an unbroken 96-run stand for the fourth wicket to push Bangladesh to 212 for 3 at stumps in the Sylhet International Stadium on Thursday, reports bdnews2.com.
In at three, Shanto laced his knock with 10 boundaries for his fifth century in the format to bolster Bangladesh with a solid groundwork for a big total after New Zealand were bowled out for 317 earlier in the day.
Shanto became the first Bangladeshi batsman to score a century on captaincy debut and also the first batsman in the country to score three centuries in four Tests.
Earlier, New Zealand resumed on an overnight 266 and added 51 to the total thanks to a stubborn 52-run resistance by Tim Southee (35) and Kyle Jamieson (23).
Mominul Haque then landed a double blow to clean up the tail and return his career best bowling figures of 3 for 4.
The hosts were off to a stuttering start in their second innings as New Zealand reduced them to 26 for 2, including a run-out of opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy (8) at the non-striker’s end.
Shanto and Mominul (40) then steadied the ship with a 90-run stand for the third wicket. Both the left-handed batters were in sublime touch as Bangladesh went into tea on 111 for 2.
After the break, a huge misunderstanding between the pair saw the back of Mominul as another run-out was struck down in the scorecard. But Mushfiqur picked up where Mominul left off and provided fine support to Shanto, adding impetus to the scoring.
Bangladesh racked up 101 runs for the loss of one wicket in the third session, ending the day on a high note with Shanto reaching the three-figure mark in the last over of the day.