Shanto, Mominul centuries help set 662 target for Afghanistan

Afghanistan 146 and 45 for 2 (Rahmat Shah 10*, Nasir Jamal 5*, Shoriful 1-6) need another 617 runs to beat Bangladesh 382 and 425 for 4 dec (Shanto 124, Mominul 122*, Zahir 2-112)

After another near-perfect day in Dhaka, where Najmul Hossain Shanto scored his second century of the Test match, Bangladesh have set themselves up for victory. Afghanistan have an improbable target ahead of them - 662 - and in their battle to stay alive they suffered an injury to their captain Hashmatullah Shahidi who was hit on the helmet by a Taskin Ahmed bouncer and had to retire hurt.

Bangladesh dominated proceedings with the bat as Shanto helped himself to 124 in 151 balls and Mominul Haque also raised a hundred of his own, finishing unbeaten on 121 off 145. The target they set - 662 - is the highest they have ever done in Test cricket but it came as no surprise. Head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe declared their intention before the start of play on Friday. He said that they wanted to bat all the way through. Some expected Bangladesh to declare after Mominul reached his hundred, but the team preferred to grind Afghanistan down. It seemed to pay immediate dividends considering the first 11 balls of the chase produced two key wickets.

Shoriful Islam trapped Ibrahim Zadran lbw for a golden duck and even DRS couldn't save the batter. The ball pitched on leg stump and was projected to hit it. Taskin Ahmed then had Abdul Malik caught behind for 5, when he went chasing after the fast bowler's away swinger.

Things got worse when Shahidi was struck on the head, as he ducked into Taskin's bouncer. The Bangladesh slip cordon and fielders, and the Afghanistan physio ran towards Shahidi, who stayed mostly on the floor after the hit. He walked off the ground after several minutes of on-field checks, although a stretcher was also brought out for him.

Source: ESPNcricinfo