The stage was set for Bangladesh to register their biggest-ever Test win by a huge margin of runs, and they did not make any mistake in seizing the opportunity against Afghanistan.
Heading into the fourth day of the Dhaka Test, only the second Test between these two South Asian rivals, the hosts needed eight wickets to secure victory, while Afghanistan faced the daunting task of scoring more than 600 runs in the remaining two days.
Afghanistan fell short, and Bangladesh won the match by a massive margin of 546 runs-a record-breaking victory in Test history since 1934 when Australia defeated England by 562 runs at The Oval. Hence, it stands as the largest victory by runs in the ongoing century.
Afghanistan began the day with eight wickets in hand, but they lost all of them during the morning session.
Rahmat Shah was the top scorer for Afghanistan with 30 runs, while none of the other Afghan batters managed to reach the 20-run mark.
Taskin Ahmed claimed four wickets for Bangladesh, conceding 37 runs, while Shoriful Islam took three wickets.
The match concluded in a dramatic fashion as Taskin came close to dismissing Zahir Khan twice as the last wicket. However, TV replays indicated that in one instance when Zahir was given out by the umpire, the ball did not make contact with his bat before being caught by the wicketkeeper. In the second attempt, Taskin bowled a waist-high no-ball that disrupted Zahir’s stumps. Eventually, Zahir retired hurt after being struck by a vicious low bouncer from Taskin.
In the first innings, Bangladesh posted a total of 382, fueled by a century from Najmul Hossain Shanto and a half-century from Mahmudul Hasan Joy.
In his debut, Nijat Masood took five wickets for Afghanistan, including a wicket off the first ball of his career, becoming the second Afghan bowler to achieve a five-for on Test debut.
In response, Afghanistan was bowled out for 146, with Ebadot Hossain taking four wickets for Bangladesh on a pitch that favored the pacers. Consequently, Bangladesh secured a commanding 234-run lead in the first innings.
Shanto continued his strong performance in the second innings, scoring another century. He now joins Mominul Haque as the only second Bangladeshi batter to achieve a century in each innings of a Test match. Mominul himself also hit a ton.
Bangladesh declared their second innings at 425 for four, setting Afghanistan a monumental target of 661 runs.
Facing this uphill battle, the Afghan batters failed to approach their batting with the right mindset and lost two wickets in the final session of day three.
Shoriful Islam dismissed Ibrahim Zadran for a golden duck off the first ball of Afghanistan’s second innings. In the following over, Taskin Ahmed claimed the wicket of Abdul Malik.
At the end of day three, the Afghanistan head coach had expressed that they would be attempting the impossible, which is exactly what transpired.
Afghanistan will return to Bangladesh in July to play a three-match ODI series and a two-match T20I series in Dhaka and Sylhet.
