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In their first match of the Asia Cup against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh produced a sorry effort as they were bundled out for just 164, with Najmul Hossain Shanto singlehandedly saving grace with 89 runs. The incident that could sum up the outing happened in the 37th over.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz, in at number seven, guided a ball to short square leg and started running. Shanto, at the non-striking end, responded.

However, watching the chances of a run out increase, Mehidy decided to back out. By then, Shanto was at the other end, resulting in both batsmen trying to get in, and a photo finish saw Mehidy return to the pavilion.

It was a comedy of errors from the duo.

In their second match against Afghanistan, the same duo turned the tide and produced a superb partnership to take Bangladesh to a comprehensive total of 334-5.

Mehidy, who was turned into a makeshift opener due to the ongoing crisis in the position, churned out a career-best 112 off 119 balls, while Shanto, who was dropped down to number four for tactical reasons, scored 104 runs off 105 balls.

The duo, with both batting out of position, added 194 runs for the third wicket, the second-most for Bangladesh, and could have even reached the apex if not for Mehidy’s cramp.

Yet, what the duo did was incredible considering the circumstances.

Bangladesh batsmen had regularly found trouble dealing with the Afghan spin trifecta, but they played each of them — Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi — with caution and took them on with guile, ensuring that Rashid and Nabi went wicketless, while the former and Mujeeb ended their quota costing more than six runs an over.
This was only the fifth time that two Bangladeshi batsmen scored a century in the same innings, and it was the second for both of them.

Mehidy, after that error of judgement in the previous match, stepped up big time in a position that was handed to him out of need.

He started off slow, reaching fifty off 65 balls, but then changed gears and scored the next fifty run-a-ball.

And after he went past triple figures, his six over extra-cover against Mujeeb was probably the shot of the match.

On the other end, Shanto continued on his purple patch, doing one better than this last innings and scoring a century, which he dedicated to his newborn son through celebrations.

This was his sixth 50-plus score of 2023, averaging 47.84 since the turn of the year.

The duo made the flat Lahore wicket look even easier to bat on, and through that, they erased the memories of the mix-up that took place two days prior.