Shanto leads with the bat

Day 3 of the Sylhet Test against Ireland on Thursday began with a couple of setbacks for Bangladesh, as two set batters fell inside 19 deliveries of the start.

Mahmudul Hasan Joy missed the double century mark, Mominul Haque missed out on a ton, but their failures did not deter skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto, who resumed his Test captaincy with a stellar knock that was both fluent and showcased authority.

Stats suggest that leadership brings out the best of his batting abilities as four of his eight tons have now come as skipper. He also averages 38.69 as captain, almost nine runs better than without the mantle.

The 27-year-old had stepped down from the role after the topsy-turvy situation in the Sri Lanka tour in June earlier this year and even in that two-match series, the Southpaw had registered two tons in Galle.

Even though he had stepped down after the Sri Lanka series, Bangladesh did not play another Test till the ongoing one against Ireland, for which he has returned to the hotseat.

In his comeback, he asserted his responsibility with the bat with a 114-ball ton, which ensured Bangladesh remained out of Ireland's reach.

In the brief period when the Tigers did not have a Test captain and names were being thrown around as potential successors, one cricketer had quipped to this reporter 'if you give the captaincy to the best performer, the team will listen'.

With an innings like this, Shanto appears to be thinking along the same lines

Shanto surpassed Mominul in scoring tons as captain and has equaled Mushfiqur Rahim with four tons. Joy, who came to the press conference yesterday, praised Shanto's knock.

"He bats very aggressively whenever he comes in. When we give a good start from the top, it becomes easy for those who bat later… I'd say his was a very good innings," he said.

Matthew Humphreys, who bagged five for 170, talked about the value of that innings.

"He's a top-class player, and we knew that coming into the game, but I think the way he started, he played the new ball really well… We had a moment of pressure this morning when we took the two early wickets and he kind of came in and put us back on the back foot with a few strong shot," Humphreys said.

Shanto's ton helped Bangladesh declare on 587 for 8, with a 301-run lead. With the visitors already five down for 86, chances are he will begin his second stint as captain with an emphatic innings win.