Towhid Hridoy 242 Not Out Sets Bangladesh's Highest Test Score

Towhid Hridoy ended day three of the Sylhet Test unbeaten on 242, the highest individual Test score made by a Bangladesh batter. He faced 359 balls. Bangladesh were bowled out for 386 in 111.5 overs, a first innings lead of 30 over West Indies, who had posted 356. Hridoy arrived with his side three wickets down on Friday evening and was still at the crease when the innings ended.

West Indies reached 7 for 0 in their second innings before bad light stopped play. Bangladesh lead by 23. Two days remain.

Hridoy began the day on 29. He added 213 before the innings folded. Bangladesh had been 88 for 3 and 268 behind at the start of play, and they finished it in front.

Past Mushfiqur’s mark

The previous best by a Bangladesh batter in Tests was Mushfiqur Rahim’s 219 not out. Hridoy passed it in the final session. He hit 22 fours and 11 sixes. The innings began slowly and then changed gear, and the pattern of it is visible in the balls he took between milestones.

It is also the highest Test score made at this ground, according to Samaa TV.

• Fifty from 109 balls, in 178 minutes
• Hundred from a further 62 balls, in 80 minutes
• 150 from a further 64 balls, in 67 minutes
• Double century from a further 69 balls, in 90 minutes

His second hundred came at almost twice the rate of his first.

The stand that turned the innings

Hridoy added 37 with Mushfiqur Rahim. He then put on 117 for the eighth wicket with Taijul Islam, the partnership that erased the deficit, and a further 85 with Taskin Ahmed. Hasan Mahmud batted at number seven. Bangladesh were seven down and still behind when the Taijul stand began.

Those three stands were worth 239 between them. Hridoy was the constant in all of them. He made 213 of the 298 runs Bangladesh added on the day, which is a little over seven in every ten.

Taijul’s contribution matters beyond the runs. He is a frontline spinner batting down the order, and he stayed with Hridoy long enough for the deficit to go. Taskin then did the same job below him.

Warrican leads the West Indies attack

Jomel Warrican took 4 for 104. He removed Mushfiqur Rahim and Litton Das, both caught. Jayden Seales claimed two wickets. Mehidy Hasan Miraz also fell. The West Indies bowlers held Bangladesh to a modest lead despite Hridoy, which keeps the match open.

Hasan Mahmud had taken 6 for 90 in the West Indies first innings on day two. That spell and Hridoy’s innings are the two pieces of work that have shaped the match so far. Justin Greaves had figures of 1 for 10 on the second evening.

Day four in Sylhet

West Indies begin the fourth morning 23 runs behind with all ten wickets standing. Anything they build from here is a target. The two completed innings have produced 742 runs between them, so the surface has not misbehaved. Bangladesh will need Taijul and Hasan Mahmud to repeat their first innings work for the lead to count.

Bad light has already cost time. The match is scheduled to run to 9 November, and two full days should be enough for a result if the weather holds. West Indies bat first on day four with the game level in all but name.

Hridoy’s 242 is closed off. He ran out of partners rather than losing his wicket, which is how the record was set and how Bangladesh came by their lead.