Bangladesh achieves historic 546-run test victory against Afghanistan, Taskin shines

Bangladesh has trounced Afghanistan by a staggering 546 runs on Saturday, securing their largest Test victory margin by runs in nearly nine decades. Taskin Ahmed emerged as the standout performer with a career-best bowling figure of 4-37.

The match reached its conclusion during the extended opening session of the fourth day in Dhaka when a fierce bouncer from Taskin struck Zahir Khan, compelling the final batsman to retire hurt.

Afghanistan struggled to make a dent in the mammoth target of 662 runs set by the hosts, resulting in Bangladesh claiming their most significant Test win by runs since Australia’s monumental 562-run triumph over England in 1934.

Addressing the media, Bangladesh skipper Liton Das expressed his satisfaction, stating, “This win is obviously very satisfying. The batsmen deserve credit as the pitch was not easy to play on. Winning by such a massive margin is truly remarkable.”

This resounding victory surpassed Bangladesh’s previous record win of 226 runs against Zimbabwe in Chittagong back in 2005.

Bangladesh’s triumph was all but assured after declaring their second innings at 425-4 during the final session on Friday.

Afghanistan’s batting woes persisted as they lost Ibrahim Zadran without scoring a run off the first ball of their innings, resuming on Saturday with a precarious 45-2.

The tourists failed to make significant improvements on the fourth day and continued losing wickets at regular intervals, with Taskin Ahmed and Shoriful Islam leading the charge for the Bangladesh attack.

Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott expressed his disappointment at the defeat, particularly considering it marked his side’s first Test match in over two years. “There were some fleeting moments of good cricket from us, but they were insufficient and lacked consistency,” he commented. Trott also highlighted the need for improvement in all three disciplines and a stronger mental approach.

Taskin Ahmed came tantalizingly close to securing his maiden five-wicket haul when he bowled the last man, Zahir Khan, in the 33rd over of the innings. However, his joy was short-lived as the umpire ruled it a no ball.

Afghanistan suffered an early setback in the morning’s third over when Nasir Jamal edged a delivery from Ebadot Hossain to the wicketkeeper. Shoriful Islam, who claimed figures of 3-28, induced Afsar Zazai to offer a catch to Mehidy Hasan at gully just five overs later.

Bahir Shah replaced the injured skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi as a concussion substitute but failed to make a lasting impact, succumbing to a catch by Taijul Islam at slip after scoring just seven runs.

Liton Das contributed to breaking Rahmat Shah’s resilient innings of 30 from 73 balls with a catch behind the stumps off Taskin Ahmed.

Karim Janat displayed some aggression, hitting two sixes before falling prey to Taskin’s delivery for 18 runs.

Spinner Mehidy Hasan joined the party by dismissing Amir Hamza for five, leaving Afghanistan eight wickets down, while Taskin wrapped up the remaining batsmen.

In the first innings, Bangladesh amassed 382 runs on a challenging green wicket, and they subsequently bowled out Afghanistan for 146, establishing a commanding lead of 236 runs.

It is worth noting that Afghanistan had won the only previous Test encounter between the two teams, defeating Bangladesh by 224 runs in Chittagong in 2019.