Mushfiqur and Shanto rue missed chances; lead stands at 329 at end of Day 3.

Bangla Press Desk: The Bangladesh cricket team is delivering an outstanding performance with both bat and ball in the Abu Dhabi Test. The Tigers secured a 106-run lead in the first innings of the one-off Test against Afghanistan. However, on Sunday—the third day—they found themselves under pressure after losing three wickets for 53 runs in their second innings.
Current captain Najmul Hossain Shanto and former captain Mushfiqur Rahim steadied the ship with a fourth-wicket partnership. The duo batted for nearly the entire day, putting together 159 runs. Yet, just before the day's play concluded, both fell agonizingly short of a century.
Bangladesh lost three wickets in the final 35 balls of the third day. Mushfiq was dismissed in the dying moments of the day's play after offering a catch; he scored 81 off 148 balls, including nine boundaries, missing the magical three-figure mark by just 19 runs.
Even after Mushfiq's dismissal, hopes remained that Shanto would reach his century. However, he was deceived by a googly from Qais Ahmad and departed for 82. Before returning to the pavilion, Shanto had scored 82 runs off 191 balls with five boundaries, missing out on his tenth Test century by a mere 18 runs.
Subsequently, fast bowler Hasan Mahmud, who had come in as a 'nightwatchman,' was dismissed. Play for the third day ended after Hasan Mahmud fell as the sixth wicket with the team score at 223.
At the close of the third day, Bangladesh holds a lead of 329 runs. Middle-order batsmen Litton Kumar Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz remain unbeaten. Tomorrow, on the fourth day, the pair will look to extend the team's lead alongside the tail-enders—Naim Hasan, Taijul Islam, and Ebadot Hossain.
Given the current state of the Abu Dhabi Test, it appears that if Bangladesh can add some more runs on the fourth day and replicate their superb bowling performance from the first innings, a victory is well within reach.
BP/TD