Towhid Hridoy’s unbeaten 242 transformed Bangladesh’s first-innings collapse into a 30-run lead over West Indies on the third day of the second Test in Sylhet on Saturday.
Bangladesh were staring at a significant deficit after losing their seventh wicket at 184, effectively eight down with injured Shadman Islam unable to bat. But Hridoy stood firm, first adding 117 runs with Taijul Islam for the eighth wicket before taking Bangladesh to 386, ahead of the visitors’ 356.
Hridoy scored 242 off 359 balls, striking 22 fours and 11 sixes in a remarkable innings that turned the match around. He surpassed Mushfiqur Rahim’s 219 to register the highest individual score by a Bangladesh batter in Test cricket.
Resuming the day on 29, Hridoy added 213 runs, breaking Shakib Al Hasan’s record for the most runs scored by a Bangladesh batter in a single day of a Test. Shakib had scored 212. Hridoy also scored 154 runs through boundaries, the highest by a Bangladesh batter in a Test innings.
His partnership with Taijul proved crucial to Bangladesh’s recovery. The pair added 117 after the fall of the seventh wicket, the second-highest eighth-wicket stand in Bangladesh’s Test history. Taijul made 22 off 56 balls before Jomel Warrican ended the stand by catching him short of his ground.
With Taijul gone, Hridoy carried on and reached his maiden double century with a single off Warrican in the 100th over. He became the first Bangladeshi to convert his maiden Test hundred into a double and the fourth from the country to reach the landmark, after Mushfiqur, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib.
Hridoy’s innings also set several other records. His 11 sixes are the most by a Bangladesh batter in a Test innings and joint third-highest in the format. He now holds the highest individual score at the Sylhet venue, surpassing Mahmudul Hasan Joy’s 171, and the highest score by a Bangladesh batter against West Indies, bettering Mahmudullah’s 136.
