Najmul Hossain Shanto has added his name to one of cricket’s rarest lists.
In the Galle Test against Sri Lanka, the Bangladesh captain scored a century in both innings. He became only the eighth Test captain in history to achieve this feat while playing away from home.
With scores of 132 and 125*, Shanto led Bangladesh’s push for control. The match was drawn, but his achievement stole the spotlight.
There have been only 18 such instances in all of Test history. Just 15 players have managed it, and Shanto now joins that group.
Following a Path First Set by Bradman
The first captain to score twin centuries in a Test was Sir Donald Bradman. He did it back in 1948 during a match against India in Melbourne. He batted at No. 3 in the first innings and scored 132. In the second, coming in at No. 6, he remained unbeaten on 127.
Ricky Ponting is the only captain to do it three times. Others who’ve achieved it include Virat Kohli, Allan Border, Ian Chappell, Robert Simpson, and Alan Melville.
Sri Lanka’s current Test captain, Dhananjaya de Silva, makes the list too—he notched twin centuries against Bangladesh in Sylhet back in 2024. A year later, Shanto returned the favor with a similar performance in Galle.
Bangladesh’s First Captain to Do It Abroad
Shanto had scored centuries in both innings once before. That happened in 2023, at home against Afghanistan. But this is his first as captain—and his first outside Bangladesh.
It marks a new chapter in the country’s Test cricket history.
As captain, Shanto joins a rare group of legends who managed the feat just once—names like Lara, Sobers, Waugh, Root, Rohit, and Smith.
By repeating the feat, Shanto has joined an even smaller group with more than one twin-century Test. That list includes Bradman, Wally Hammond, and Gordon Greenidge.
A Measured, Leading Performance
In both innings in Galle, Shanto showed control and maturity.
He faced 202 balls in the first innings for his 132. In the second, he made 125 off 189 balls, anchoring the innings until the declaration at 285 for six. His strike rate was higher in the latter, including three sixes in the final stretch.
His efforts set Sri Lanka a stiff fourth-innings target, but rain had the final say as the match ended without a result. But the effort with the bat left a mark.
More Than Just Numbers
What makes Shanto’s achievement special is not just the numbers. It’s how few have done it as captain, and fewer still away from home.
In cricket’s long history, moments like these are rare. For Bangladesh, it’s a first. For Shanto, it may be a sign of more to come.
Shanto stands apart—even Kohli, Smith, and Williamson only managed twin tons once in their careers.
He’s quietly stepped into the elite ranks of Test cricket.
