After nearly two and a half years, Bangladesh finally saw a century from an opener, thanks to Shadman Islam’s brilliant batting. With a full-length delivery from Richard Ngarava outside off-stump, Shadman executed a stunning cover drive that pierced through the gap between two fielders and raced to the boundary. This boundary took Shadman to his long-awaited milestone, ending Bangladesh’s drought for an opening batsman’s century in Test cricket.
For the past year and a half to two years, Bangladesh’s top-order batsmen had been consistently disappointing, and Shadman brought a much-needed sigh of relief during the series-deciding match against Zimbabwe. His positive and aggressive batting resulted in a fantastic century.
On Tuesday, at the Birshreshtha Shaheed Flight Lieutenant Matiur Rahman Cricket Stadium in Chattogram, Shadman reached his century in 142 balls. On his way to the century, he struck a total of 16 boundaries.
Despite the scorching heat, a couple of hundred spectators were present in the gallery. Perhaps to express his gratitude to the fans, Shadman raised his bat towards the gallery after reaching the milestone. He then raised his bat to the dressing room.
This was Shadman’s second century in his nearly seven-year Test career. His first came in 2021 against Zimbabwe in the Harare Test, where he scored an unbeaten 115 runs. Now, he’s surpassed that and is adding another career-best innings to his record.
Shadman had come close to a century last August against Pakistan but fell short by seven runs, getting bowled out by Mohammad Ali.
With his century, Shadman broke Bangladesh’s almost two-and-a-half-year-long wait for a century from an opener. The last time an opener scored a century was in December 2022 in Chattogram, when Zakir Hasan scored 100 against India on his debut.
Shadman becomes Bangladesh’s third opener to score multiple centuries in Tests. The country has had a total of 20 centuries from openers, with 10 of them coming from Tamim Iqbal. Imrul Kayes also has two centuries to his name.
During his partnership with Anamul Haque, Shadman added 118 runs for the opening wicket. This was the first opening century partnership for Bangladesh in nearly two and a half years, and in 33 innings. The last such partnership came against India when Zakir and Najmul Hossain Shanto added 124 runs.
Right from the start, Shadman looked comfortable at the crease, as Zimbabwe’s bowlers were frequently offering loose deliveries. He punished them with precision, timing, and placement.
After reaching fifty off 78 balls with 7 boundaries, Shadman went to lunch unbeaten on 66. When play resumed, Shadman continued his assault, striking another 9 boundaries to bring up his century. Although Anamul got out during the partnership, Shadman remained focused and reached the three-figure mark.
After nearly four years of waiting, Shadman brought up his century with a pulled six off Brian Bennett’s short delivery—his second-ever six in his career. His first six came last year in Kingston against the West Indies.
However, Shadman couldn’t extend his innings further. He was dismissed LBW off Brian Bennett’s delivery, finishing with 120 runs from 181 balls, including 16 fours and 1 six. He might consider himself somewhat unlucky as the ball barely touched the leg stump on its way to him.
