Captain Shanto takes blame for Sylhet Test defeat

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain took responsibility for the side’s three-wicket defeat to Zimbabwe in the first cricket Test at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

He admitted that his wretched shots early in the morning of Day 4 hastened Bangladesh’s collapse that saw Zimbabwe getting just 174-run target for a famous victory.

Zimbabwe reached the target, albeit a hiccup to register their first victory in this format since 2021.

“I have taken the full responsibility. I shouldn’t play this kind of shot early in the morning session,” he told the reporters after the match in Sylhet.

“The truth is that the whole thing got lost because of me, because of this shot.”

Shanto top-scored the side with 60 as Bangladesh bundled out for 255 in the second innings. Bangladesh relied on him heavily to set a big target for Zimbabwe in the fourth innings after he began the Day 4 with the same score.

But his premeditated attempt for a pull shot against short pitched delivery that was well outside off brought an end to his innings when Bangladesh needed him badly to take the game out of Zimbabwe’s reach.

“We’d the chance to be in pole position to win the game,” he said, adding that “the wicket of mine in the early morning spoiled the whole thing.”

I am taking all the responsibilities since my dismissal came at a time when the team needed me badly, an emotion-choked Shanto said.

Resuming the day on 194-4, still leading Zimbabwe by 112 runs, Bangladesh finally could add just 61 runs to their overnight total after delayed start to the game because of rain.

After Shanto’s dismissal, Jaker Ali Anik’s 58 was crucial in taking the lead past 150.

Zimbabwe though had raced to 95, thanks to their openers Brian Bennet and Ben Curran’s resilience, Mehidy Hasan Miraz made the task difficult for them, with his second five-for in the match.

He eventually finished with a match haul of 10-102, his third 10-for in the Test cricket, that also made him the third Bangladeshi bowler to reach 200-wicket-haul in this format after Shakib Al Hasan and Taijul Islam.

“I think we would have been in a better position if we had added 50-60 more runs at that time. The bowlers bowled well to bring us back in the game but the target was very small,” Shanto said.