Former Bangladesh batter Mohammad Ashraful believes that Towhid Hridoy’s being on song in the Sylhet Test will further boost his confidence to do good in South Africa.
Hridoy, who scored 242* against the West Indies in the first innings of the second Test of the recently concluded two-match Test series between Bangladesh and West Indies, also scored 82 in the second innings before earning a draw. On the back of his 242*, Bangladesh recovered from an early hiccup, hence later eventually saving the Test.
However, before this knock, he played an unbeaten 350-run knock against South Africa A during Bangladesh A’s tour earlier in September this year. This knock earned him his place in the XI against the West Indies at home soil.
Ashraful, who has been a batting coach of Bangladesh until the West Indies series, believes that Hridoy’s hard work and an amazing form across formats rewarded him in the second Test against the West Indies.
“Look, after I joined, I would say that if you talk about the most consistent batsman, he was the most consistent performer in both formats, ODI and T20. In ODIs, he had almost a 61 average, and in T20s, a 45 average. He got an opportunity in Tests in Zimbabwe but couldn’t perform that well. But the very next innings, he scored 350 in first-class cricket. So, in the Dhaka Test, I would say he was batting very well in the first innings until he got out, he scored 42. But the way he got out in both innings, we all criticized it,” Ashraful said.
He also went on to emphasise how his hard work in the nets and the way he played along with the tailenders, it really helped him stand out later in the second Test.
“His character, actually, in the 11 months I’ve seen many players, his practice style was a bit different from everyone else’s, that’s what I felt in these 11 months. So he got the result of that, and the thing I always tried to tell our players for 11 months is that in cricket, not everyone scores runs; one or two players will score runs in a match, and those runs will make such a difference that the match result is determined.
Towhid Hridoy actually did that, and what I liked most is that he made partnerships of 100 and 90 runs with the last two batsmen, Taijul and Taskin. These things were very good. I hope that if you noticed the first Test match, Litton perhaps gave Hasan a chance to play five balls from Joseph; if he had played more instead of doing that, we might have scored more runs. Towhid Hridoy did that in the second Test. So, I hope these innings will give him confidence to perform well in South Africa too.”
Moreover, upon asking whether this (242* against West Indies) was the best innings he has ever seen or not by a Bangladeshi batter, he hailed it as “definitely one of the best.”
“There are many best innings, of course, this is one of the best innings. But in 26 years of Bangladesh’s Test cricket, I would say there are many, many bests; the century in the debut Test, Bulbul Bhai’s 145, gives a certain flavor, each century gives a different flavor. So, definitely one of the best,” he said.
