It came after more than two years, and Najmul Hossain will certainly cherish his fourth ODI hundred, crafted entirely on his own terms at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium on Thursday against New Zealand in the series-concluding final of the three-match contest.
His form had come under such intense scrutiny that, after a duck in the opening ODI against New Zealand, many began to question whether his place in the 50-over side was secure, armed with statistics to support their claims.
Najmul had gone 13 consecutive ODI innings without a fifty before producing a career-saving unbeaten 50 against New Zealand in the second match of the three-match series.
The left-handed batter, demoted to No. 4 to accommodate Soumya Sarkar at No. 3, could not kick on in the second game as he was retired out with cramp after reaching 50, but he offered clear signs that his form was returning.
Najmul, who put on 160 with Litton Kumar Das after Bangladesh slipped to 32 for 3 in the Powerplay, resisted the urge to panic and gave himself time to settle, even as the visitors' bowling unit dominated the early exchanges with hard lengths. Apart from a moment when he charged at pacer Ben Lister and top-edged a six, there were clear signs he was feeling the pressure.
Otherwise, he responded with composure, aligning with his new batting mantra, no longer standing as tall as he once did, courtesy of a significantly lower backlift.
"He's keeping the backlift low," Sohel Islam, childhood mentor of the left-handed batter, told Cricbuzz.
"When you keep it lower, the swing improves, the rhythm improves," he said.
"Those who bring the bat from low and hit in one motion - you've seen Rishabh Pant and the like - the ball travels far," he said.
"Because he is keeping the backlift low now, you can see how he's hitting sixes just standing in place," he said, adding that it was like going back to the basics for him.
"Usually he used to have a low backlift but later he opted to have a higher backlift against spin. What we were doing was-since there was a lot of pace in the bowling of Rashid Khan and others in the Afghanistan series-the ball was skiddy, so keeping the bat a bit higher helped in taking singles," he said.
"But then it seemed his ability to hit sixes from a standing position reduced a bit. That's why he has changed it again," he added.
Sohel added that work was needed against pace, as he had a tendency to stay slightly on the back foot against pacers, but that appeared much improved in the second and third ODIs against New Zealand.
"I am talking about the trigger at the point of release (from pacers). During the trigger he was staying slightly back, so now that has come a bit forward again," he said.
"After the opening ODI I was talking about it with him and just reminded him that his body weight needs to be a bit forward while facing the pace bowlers," he said.
"These things happen. Say when you're playing in the BPL and you're thinking you'll hit off the back foot then gradually your weight starts staying back so you can hit those balls through the region you targeted and this needs a bit more adjustment now (against pace bowlers)," he said adding that he is quite happy with the outcome.
The southpaw owned the day with a well-crafted 105 off 119 balls, striking nine boundaries and two sixes for his fourth ODI century, and his second at this venue, achieved while battling cramps as he batted for nearly three hours. His innings was largely built on pulls and drives, scoring 38 runs off pulls and another 28 through drives on the on side.
Bangladesh captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz highlighted the effort made by the left-hander.
"It was definitely very tough, and they batted with a great sense of responsibility for the team's needs. You can see that they could have played rash shots, but instead they showed a lot of discipline and composure. Batting like that in such heat, and taking responsibility the way they did, was really impressive," he said at the post-match press conference.
"In my opinion, the way Shanto batted completely turned the momentum. The way Litton supported him was also crucial. Being 31 for three in those conditions is very difficult, especially since the opposition were bowling in the right areas. The way they handled that situation with responsibility was unbelievable and it changed the entire momentum for the team. Everyone in the side felt confident that no matter the total, we could win the match," he added.
New Zealand captain Tom Latham echoed the same sentiment.
"It was very hot and I guess people probably don't see it necessarily on TV, the conditions that we were faced with. It was really hot, probably one of my hotter experiences playing in these conditions. So full credit to the way that they played," he said after the match when asked about Najmul's nearly three-hour marathon innings.
Najmul can take satisfaction from sticking to his new batting mantra against the odds, as it ultimately paid dividends.
