Towhid Hridoy celebrates Bangladesh’s two-wicket win over Afghanistan in the first T20I in Sylhet on Friday. Photo: Firoz Ahmed
Needing six runs off the final over with five wickets in hand and Towhid Hridoy on 47 off 32 at the non-strikers’ end, it seemed an easy task for Bangladesh to win the first T20I against Afghanistan in Sylhet yesterday until Karim Janat’s hattrick suddenly changed the complexion of the game.
Shoriful Islam eventually struck a boundary to take Bangladesh home with a ball to spare but before that, it was Hridoy who played a pivotal role in the Tigers’ narrow two-wicket victory by chasing down the 155-run target set by Afghanistan.
22-year-old Hridoy, who smashed three boundaries and two maximums on way to his highest T20I score, showed great maturity as he starred in a match-winning 73-run fifth-wicket stand with another youngster in Shamim Hossain after the Tigers were under a lot of pressure following the departure of skipper Shakib Al Hasan.
Hridoy, as he walked into the press conference room following the game, maintained his calm demeanour as shown while on the pitch. Showing no signs of being overwhelmed with what he had achieved, Hridoy informed that he had the belief that the Tigers would go on to win the game.
“I was normal because I knew we only needed two runs which would only need one ball and if we could just connect the ball. I tried to remain calm in that situation. Since I was at the non-striker’s end, I tried to help my partner by relaying what type of ball may come, and that’s it. I had belief in everyone [who came to bat at the end],” player of the match Hridoy told the media after the game.
It was the day of the young guns who had lifted the Under-19 World Cup for Bangladesh in 2020 as they took responsibility when it mattered the most. The chemistry between the two players from the Under-19 World Cup winning team — Shamim, who scored 33 off 25, and Hridoy — proved vital for the hosts.
“I just told Shamim that we have won this type of matches in the past, maybe in the domestic circuit as we both bat in the middle order and faced such situations before. I told him that if we could gain the momentum in one or two overs, we could turn the game in our favour,” he said.
The 22-year-old, who seemed quite mature compared to his age, said that he wanted to stay till the end and finish the game as such an opportunity rarely presents itself.
