Shadman Islam ended his wait for a third Test century on Thursday, converting his overnight 99 not out into a hundred to become the fifth batter in Test history to achieve the feat, before falling for 105 on the second day of the first Test against West Indies at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur.
The left-hander reached his third Test century in 221 balls, turning his overnight score of 99 not out into three figures with a double off debutant Joshua Bishop.
He became only the second Bangladesh batter to achieve the feat after Mushfiqur Rahim, who had remained unbeaten on 99 against Ireland in his 100th Test in November 2025.
England’s Joe Root and South Africa’s Faf du Plessis are among the other batters to have found themselves in the same position.
Shadman celebrated by removing his helmet, raising both hands and performing a sajdah on the field. It was his second Test century at home and his first since scoring three figures against Zimbabwe in April 2025, ending a 17-innings wait for another hundred.
However, he could not push his score beyond 105. Bishop trapped him lbw, and Shadman’s review failed to overturn the decision as the Decision Review System returned three reds.
Shadman lost opening partner Tanzid Hasan Tamim early before adding 59 runs with Mominul Haque for the second wicket on firth day. He then shared a 42 runs partnership with captain Najmul Hossain Shanto before building an unbeaten 88 runs stand with Towhid Hridoy, who retired hurt. Litton Das was Shadman’s partner at stumps, with the pair adding 23 runs before bad light ended play on Wednesday.
Shadman faced 234 balls and struck 11 fours, relying on controlled strokeplay and running between the wickets rather than attacking boundaries. His most productive shot was the flick, which yielded 24 runs, while 59 runs came through running between the wickets.
The century was particularly significant for a batter who has often struggled to turn promising starts into substantial scores. Over the past three years, Shadman had scored 1,115 runs among Test openers, but had converted starts into hundreds less frequently than several of his peers.
