Afghanistan national cricket team captain Rahmat Shah made history during the ongoing Test match against Bangladesh at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi, becoming only the sixth cricketer in Test history to score a century and a fifty in his debut match as captain.
Leading Afghanistan for the first time, Rahmat Shah posted an unbeaten 105 off 216 balls in the first innings and backed it up with a resilient 51 off 124 balls in the second innings. This rare feat was last accomplished in 2014 by Indian star Virat Kohli, who scored 115 and 141 against Australia in Adelaide during his Test captaincy debut. The elite six-captain roster includes Archie MacLaren (109 & 50* for England vs Australia, 1897), Geoff Rabone (107 & 68 for New Zealand vs South Africa, 1953), Greg Chappell (123 & 109* for Australia vs West Indies, 1975), Brendan Taylor (71 & 105* for Zimbabwe vs Bangladesh, 2011), and now Rahmat Shah.
Rahmat's second-innings knock was brought to an end on Day 4 when he edged fast bowler Ebadot Hossain to wicketkeeper Litton Das in the 43rd over. Chasing a mammoth target of 479 runs set by Bangladesh, Afghanistan reached 132/3 in 50 overs at stumps on Day 4. Heading into the final day, Afghanistan requires another 347 runs with 7 wickets in hand, while Najmul Hossain Shanto’s Bangladesh team needs 7 wickets to seal victory. Since the highest successful fourth-innings run chase in Test history stands at 418 runs (achieved by West Indies against Australia in 2003), Afghanistan will need a world-record effort on Day 5 to secure a win.
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Reported by Sports Desk • Edited by the Daily Best News desk. Send corrections to [email protected].
