Domestic performers make their mark

Players who were picked for the England series following their outstanding performances in the domestic leagues, shined in the Tigers’ victory over World Champions England in the first Twenty20 International match in Chattogram.

Rony Talukdar, Towhid Hridoy, and Hasan Mahmud were the star performers of the latest edition of the Bangladesh Premier League. Hridoy was the third-highest run-scorer in the league, and Rony was just ahead of him on the list. Hasan Mahmud was the leading wicket-taker as he bagged 17 wickets in the tournament.

As a result of their great performances, the selectors gave them an opportunity to bring their brilliant form into the international stage with Hridoy making his international debut, while Rony returned to the fray after eight years. And on the day, all three of them made an impact in the Tigers’ victory.

Rony made his debut for the Tigers in 2015 against South Africa where he scored 21 but was dropped from the squad immediately. The 32-year-old batter made an amazing comeback as he gave Bangladesh a blistering start in their pursuit of 157.

Rony replaced Soumya Sarkar to partner with Liton Das up top and swung his bat with confidence, which resulted in a quick 21 runs off just 14 balls, hitting four fours with a strike rate of 150.

Hridoy scored 24 off 17 balls, hitting two fours and a six in the process to mark his debut, but not only was his innings impactful, but also his intent was fiery.

“The way he batted considering it was his first match, that brought me confidence. He never looked phased against such a big side,” player of the match Najmul Hossain Shanto praised Hridoy.

Before that, Hasan Mahmud played his part brilliantly to stop the English innings from going out of reach. After the 16th over, England were at 135-3, with the ever-dangerous Jos Buttler set, but Hasan drew him into a trap and the English skipper swung a catch to Najmul Shanto to long-on.

After the wicket, the 23-year-old bowler bowled four straight dot balls and suddenly the English side, who were looking dangerous, lost momentum and the Bangladeshi bowlers took control from there and restricted them to 156-6.

The pacer was awarded the ‘Tiger of the Match’ award and drew praise from Najmul.

“He (Hasan) bowled an important spell. He bowled really well in BPL. Maybe that helped his confidence in the match,” he said.