Asia Cup: Najmul Hossain Shanto slams his second ODI hundred
Najmul Hossain Shanto scored a brilliant hundred in Bangladesh's 2023 Asia Cup clash against Afghanistan. He bailed his side out of trouble with a well-paced knock. The youngster got run out after scoring 104 off 105 balls (9 fours, 2 sixes). Overall, this was Shanto's second century in ODI cricket and a second successive fifty-plus score. Here we look at his stats.
A timely knock from Shanto
Batting first in Lahore, Bangladesh were off to a good start with their openers adding 60 runs. However, they then lost two wickets in quick intervals. Shanto, who arrived at number four, joined forces with Mehidy Hasan Miraz (112*) and the duo stitched a 194-run stand. Both batters scored centuries. Shanto shifted gears in the end overs and played several spectacular shots.
Here we look at his stats
Shanto, who scored 89 in Bangladesh's Asia Cup opener against Sri Lanka, starred once again. He has now raced to 832 runs in 29 games at an average of 29.71. His strike rate is 78.2. Besides two hundreds, the left-handed batter also has four fifties in the format. The 25-year-old would like to improve his stats going forward.
Sensational run in 2023
Shanto has been taking rapid strides at the international level. In 14 ODIs this year, the young batter has raced to 622 runs at an excellent average of 47.84. No other Bangladesh batter has scored 500 or more runs this year. All of Shanto's six fifty-plus scores in ODI cricket have come in 2023.
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Notably, Shanto became only the seventh Bangladesh batter to slam a century in Asia Cup. Mehidy was the sixth one. The duo has joined the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim (two centuries), Alok Kapali, Anamul Haque, Litton Das, and Mohammad Ashraful in the elite list.
