Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto missed out on a place in an exclusive Test cricket record list by 13 runs during the ongoing Mirpur Test against Pakistan. He scored 101 in the first innings and followed it with 87 in the second, falling just short of a second century in the match.
Batting with the objective of setting Pakistan a challenging target, Shanto once again led from the front. However, his innings ended when he attempted a reverse sweep against left-arm spinner Noman Ali. The ball struck his pad, prompting an appeal and a subsequent lbw decision from the umpire. A review was taken, but the original decision stood, and he departed after facing 150 deliveries.
The dismissal denied him a tenth Test century and a rare statistical achievement in world cricket. Had he reached three instances of scoring centuries in both innings of a Test match, he would have joined an elite group of batters with that record.
Shanto’s Two-Innings Centuries in Tests
| Opponent | Venue | First Innings | Second Innings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan (2023) | Mirpur | 146 | 124 |
| Sri Lanka (2025) | Galle | 148 | 125 |
| Pakistan (2026)* | Mirpur | 101 | 87 |
*Current Test match ongoing
Shanto has previously achieved the feat of scoring centuries in both innings of a Test on two occasions. In 2023 against Afghanistan at Mirpur, he scored 146 and 124. He repeated the milestone in June 2025 during the Galle Test against Sri Lanka, registering 148 and 125.
In the ongoing Mirpur Test, he was again in a position to join that group for a third time, which would have placed him among only a select number of players in Test history to achieve the milestone across three separate matches.
In Test cricket, only three batters have so far recorded centuries in both innings of a Test on three different occasions: Sunil Gavaskar, Ricky Ponting, and David Warner. Shanto’s dismissal for 87 meant he fell short of equalling that record.