Najmul Shanto Achieves Extraordinary Batting Feat Not Even Managed By Kohli, Smith & Root

History was scripted in Galle by Bangladesh Test captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, who became the first Bangladesh cricketer in history to smash multiple twin tons in Test cricket. 

Shanto smashed 148 in the first innings and then backed it up with an unbeaten 125 today in the second innings on the fifth day of the clash against Sri Lanka. Shanto’s second twin century comes almost exactly two years after his first, which came against Afghanistan in Mirpur in June 2023. 

Smashing twin tons in a Test is in itself a remarkable achievement, but by smashing multiple twin tons, Shanto has joined a pretty rare list. Hitting multiple twin tons in Test is something not even managed by the likes of Steve Smith, Virat Kohli and Joe Root. In fact, only a handful of Asian batters have managed to achieve this feat.

Asian batters with multiple twin tons in Tests

Aravinda de Silva (SL)

Rahul Dravid (IND)

Sunil Gavaskar (IND)

Kumar Sangakkara (SL)

Najmul Hossain Shanto (BAN)

Shanto now has hit seven centuries in Tests. He has also breached the 2000-run barrier in Test cricket.