Najmul Hossain Shanto has etched his name into the history books, and so have Bangladesh after sweeping Pakistan 2-0 in the second Test at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Sylhet on Wednesday, May 20. Defending 436 in the fourth innings, the hosts needed only three wickets to win the match with 121 more runs in hand.
Taijul Islam led the show with the ball as he took six wickets in the innings, including two on the final day to set up the win. Bangladesh have now registered their first-ever Test sweep over Pakistan at home, having also beaten them in the previous Test. Moreover, Bangladesh had also swept Pakistan 2-0 in the away series in 2024.
Shanto breaks Mushfiqur's record
Meanwhile, Shanto's impressive rise as captain has now made him the most successful captain of Bangladesh as he went past Mushfiqur Rahim with the second Test win. He now has eight victories in 18 Tests, while the veteran Mushfiqur had tallied seven in 34 matches.
Most wins as Bangladesh captain:
1 - Najmul Hossain Shanto: 8 wins in 18 matches
2 - Mushfiqur Rahim: 7 wins in 34 matches
3 - Shakib Al Hasan: 4 wins in 19 matches
While Shanto continued his rise, Shan Masood's downfall as the Test captain hit a new low. The left-handed batter has led Pakistan in 16 Tests since 2023 and has won only four matches with them, while suffering defeats in 12 others. He now has the second-most defeats by a Pakistan skipper in Test cricket, having now gone past Inzamam-ul-Haq. He is only behind Misbah-ul-Haq, who lost 19 during his tenure.
Most losses as Pakistan captain:
1 - Misbah-ul-Haq: 19 losses in 56 matches
2 - Shan Masood: 12 losses in 16 matches
3 - Inzamam-ul-Haq: 11 losses in 31 matches
Taijul ends with six-wicket haul as Rizwan's valiant effort in vain
Mohammad Rizwan was the only hope for Pakistan at the start of the final day, in their bid towards a dream win. The overnight pair of Rizwan and Sajid Khan made a strong start in the first hour of Day 5. The two resumed the things on 316/7 and added 42 more for the eighth wicket before the visitors committed a hara-kiri once again. Taijul broke the partnership when he removed Sajid, before Shoriful Islam got Rizwan. Taijul returned to get Khurram Shahzad as Pakistan lost all their remaining three wickets without adding a single run on 358.
