Bangladesh's Towhid Hridoy reaches new heights with historic 242 vs West Indies
Towhid Hridoy continued his remarkable rise in international cricket, producing a monumental unbeaten 242 to rewrite Bangladesh’s Test record books during the third day of the second Test against West Indies in Sylhet on Saturday. The right-handed batter became the highest individual run-scorer for Bangladesh in Test cricket, surpassing Mushfiqur Rahim’s previous record of 219.
Hridoy’s marathon knock came off 359 deliveries and included 22 fours and 11 sixes. His extraordinary effort helped Bangladesh recover from a precarious position of 184 for seven and eventually reach 386 for nine in response to West Indies’ first-innings total of 356.
The 25-year-old also became only the fourth Bangladesh batter to score a double century in Test cricket, joining Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan in an exclusive list. Interestingly, Hridoy achieved the feat in only his third Test appearance and became the first Bangladesh batter to convert his maiden Test century into a double hundred.
FROM 350 AGAINST SOUTH AFRICA TO HISTORIC DOUBLE CENTURY
Bangladesh were in serious trouble when the third day’s play began, resuming their innings at 88 for three. West Indies had earlier posted 356, and the visitors looked well placed to secure a substantial first-innings advantage.
However, Hridoy refused to give up. He brought up his maiden Test century off 171 deliveries before shifting gears and taking the attack to the West Indies bowlers.
He found valuable support from Taijul Islam, with the pair stitching together a 117-run partnership for the eighth wicket. Taijul contributed 22 off 56 deliveries before falling to Jomel Warrican.
Hridoy then continued his assault alongside Taskin Ahmed, adding another 85 runs for the ninth wicket. Taskin scored 12 before falling to Jayden Seales, but Hridoy remained unbeaten as Bangladesh finished at 386 for nine, securing a crucial 30-run first-innings lead.
The knock came just over two months after another extraordinary achievement in Hridoy’s career. In September, he smashed an unbeaten 350 for Bangladesh A against South Africa A in the second four-day match at Potchefstroom.
Resuming on 204 overnight, Hridoy batted through to 350 off 481 deliveries, hitting 27 fours and 10 sixes. He became the first Bangladesh batter to score 350 in first-class cricket, surpassing Tamim Iqbal’s previous national record of 334 not out.
HRIDOY PUTS BANGLADESH IN CHARGE
Hridoy’s heroics have given Bangladesh an opportunity to take control of the second and final Test. After conceding a 30-run first-innings deficit, West Indies began their second innings cautiously, with openers Brandon King and Joshua Da Silva negotiating four overs without losing a wicket.
The visitors reached seven without loss before bad light forced an early end to the third day’s proceedings. West Indies were still trailing Bangladesh by 23 runs at stumps, with all 10 second-innings wickets intact.
Earlier in the day, Bangladesh had looked in danger of conceding a sizeable lead after losing four wickets in the morning session. Jomel Warrican was particularly effective, dismissing Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das and Hasan Mahmud, while Roston Chase removed Mehidy Hasan Miraz.
However, Hridoy’s extraordinary resilience and attacking strokeplay changed the complexion of the contest.
With two days remaining, Bangladesh will look to make early inroads into the West Indies batting order and build on the advantage created by their record-breaking batter.
– Ends
