Bangladesh batter Najmul Hossain Shanto has decided to step down as captain in all three formats following the Test series against South Africa, as reported by ESPNcricinfo. Shanto has already communicated his intention to resign from the captaincy to the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB). This decision comes after Bangladesh’s seven-wicket loss to South Africa in Dhaka.
The second Test match between Bangladesh and South Africa is scheduled from October 29 to November 2. After this series, Bangladesh will head to the UAE for three ODIs against Afghanistan, starting November 6 and concluding on November 11. Following the ODI series, the team will travel to the Caribbean for an all-format series against West Indies.
In the first Test, South African bowler Kagiso Rabada made headlines by entering the top five of leading wicket-takers for South Africa in international cricket with a total of 536 wickets. He also became the fastest Proteas bowler to reach 300 Test wickets in terms of balls bowled. Wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne scored a century, becoming only the third keeper to achieve this in Asia after legends like AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock.
In the first Test, Shanto won the toss and chose to field, a decision that backfired as South Africa’s bowlers thrived in favorable conditions, bowling Bangladesh out for just 106 runs. Kagiso Rabada, Wiaan Mulder, and Keshav Maharaj each claimed three wickets. Mahmudul Hasan Joy was the top scorer for Bangladesh with 30 runs off 97 balls.
Bangladesh’s spinners fought back, with Taijul Islam taking 5/122 and Mehidy Hasan contributing 2/63, but a century from Kyle Verreynne (114 off 144 balls) alongside support from Mulder (54 off 112 balls) and Dane Piedt (32 off 87 balls) allowed South Africa to gain a significant lead of 202 runs, finishing at 308.
In their second innings, South Africa’s bowlers dominated again, reducing Bangladesh to 112/6 at one point. However, Mehidy Hasan resisted with a valiant 97 runs off 191 balls, helping Bangladesh reach 307. Rabada finished with impressive figures of 6/46, his best in Asia. South Africa chased down the 106 runs required for victory with ease, led by Tony de Zorzi’s 41 runs off 52 balls and Tristan Stubbs’ unbeaten 30 runs off 37 balls, sealing the match by seven wickets.
