Shanto's Resilient Hundred Leaves Pakistan in Mirpur Test Frustration in 2026

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto's majestic hundred puts his side in control of the Mirpur Test

Bangladesh Takes Control at Tea A phenomenal hundred from Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto solidified his side's grip on the early stages of the first Test against Pakistan at the tea break. His unbeaten partner Mominul Haque remained 64 runs short of his century, and together they formed a 170-run third-wicket partnership that Pakistan's bowlers struggled to disrupt until Mohammad Abbas' timely strike in the final over gave them some consolation from the session. The pair continued where they left off in the morning, largely untroubled by any Pakistan bowler, both seam and spin. ## Pakistan's Bowlers Fail to Make an Impact The afternoon saw the pair pick up where they left off in the morning, almost completely unencumbered by any Pakistan bowler. The early movement Pakistan's quicker bowlers got off the surface had all but dissipated, and with no genuine speed in Pakistan's pace attack, there was little for two set batsmen to fear. Bangladesh hurried the scoring rate along, a boundary from Shanto off Abbas got the scoreboard running. ## Shanto's Aggressive Shotplay Bangladesh milked the spinners, with Shanto especially fearless against Noman Ali, unafraid of using his feet and in supreme control when going over cover or mid-off. It was in that cover region that he threaded the gap which fetched his milestone-reaching boundary, celebrating getting to his ninth hundred with a gallop into the air and a pump of his fists. He was in particular belligerent against Noman Ali, using his feet to great effect. ## Mominul's Late Cut Proves Effective Mominul deployed the late cut to considerable effectiveness against the quicker bowlers time and again, toying with the field Masood set, no matter how novel or unconventional. He was, for much of the session, content to take a backseat to his more aggressive captain, comfortably absorbing any pressure Pakistan were trying to put the hosts under. Meanwhile, Mohammad Abbas coming around the wicket with Rizwan standing up to pin him, found some tail back in that beat Shanto's inside edge to hit him on the knee roll. ## Early Stumbles for Bangladesh After Shan Masood won the toss and opted to put the hosts in on a green-top wicket, that decision looked to have paid off early after Bangladesh stumbled to 31 for two, but an unbeaten half-century stand between Haque and Shanto guided their side out of immediate trouble, bringing up the team 100 before lunch. This was billed as a series that would not rely on spin bowling to the extent it has come to be expected in Bangladesh. A look at the surface convinced both sides, too, with each playing just the one specialist spinner and three seamers. ## Pakistan's Initial Success Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Abbas made decent use of those conditions. The first two balls of the Test went for two boundaries, but the visitors pulled things back over the next hour. Off the first ball of his fourth over, Shaheen probed the fourth stump channel to draw a poke from Mahmudul Hasan Joy to draw first blood. Abbas was perhaps a touch unlucky not to find himself among the wickets earlier, but it set the stage for Hasan Ali to find a bit of nip and coax an edge Salman Agha pouched in the slips. ## Mominul and Shanto Steady the Ship The danger signs were flashing in neon for Bangladesh at that point, but Mominul and Shanto calmed proceedings over the next few overs. While the scoring rate was sluggish, they began to take the sting out of the attack. Pakistan will rue one golden missed chance in the slips, when a Mominul edge was caught up between Salman Agha and debutant Abdullah Fazal, and went to ground. ## Bangladesh's Partnership Blossoms In the final 45 minutes before drinks, as conditions eased and the batsmen settled, the runs began to flow. Afridi, who bowled nine overs in the session, saw his potency fade away towards the backend, with Bangladesh milking nine runs in each of the first two overs of his second spell. Shanto, in particular, would become much more expressive with his shotmaking, opening up his body and driving expansively through the offside against the pacers.