Najmul Hossain Shanto takes blame for defeat in first Zimbabwe Test

SYLHET: Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has held himself responsible for his team’s three-wicket defeat in the first Test of the two-match home series against Zimbabwe, stating that his dismissal ‘ruined’ the match.

The home side were in a comparatively comfortable position at the start of the penultimate day as they were 194/4, leading by 112 runs, with skipper Shanto and wicketkeeper batter Jaker Ali, unbeaten on 60 and 21 respectively.

Bangladesh were looking on track to set a competitive total but they endured a massive setback on just the second delivery of the day when Shanto attempted to pull a delivery from wide of off-stump and ended up sending a leading edge to Victor Nyauchi at deep fine leg.

"It was my fault that we lost the match, that's the truth," Shanto said.

"My wicket early in the morning [off the second ball of the day] ruined the whole match for us. If we [Shanto and Jaker Ali] had added 50 or 60 more runs at that time, we would be in a better position. I don't want to blame anyone else.

“I am taking all the responsibilities since my dismissal came at a very bad time. I always think about taking scoring opportunities.

“Maybe I could have taken more time [before playing my shots]. But I will play that shot [again], maybe the timing wasn't right [on this occasion]."

His dismissal sparked a match-defining collapse which saw Bangladesh losing their remaining five wickets for just 61 runs, consequently getting bowled out for a modest total of 255 and setting Zimbabwe a modest 174-run target.

The visitors, after having their fair share of setbacks, eventually chased down the target for the loss of seven wickets to register their first victory in away Tests since 2018.