'Just want to do whatever the team needs': Hridoy sets no specific targets after record-breaking 242

Towhid Hridoy says he has no targets after his unbeaten 242 against West Indies, the highest individual score by a Bangladeshi in Tests.

Speaking to broadcasters before play on Sunday, the 25-year-old said his only aim is to serve the team.

“I just want to do whatever the team needs.”

Hridoy skipped Saturday’s press conference, exhausted after batting for almost the entire day. He rested overnight, returned to the field on Sunday and spoke to the cameras before play began, describing the innings as a dream that arrived early.

“This was my dream. I am very happy that it has come true. Perhaps it has happened a little earlier than I expected.”

It is only his third Test. His debut against Zimbabwe last June brought scores of three and nine, and the following match did little to change that. Sylhet has now rewritten his story.

He walked in with Bangladesh on 22 for two. When the seventh wicket fell at 184, he was unbeaten on 81, and the hosts were in danger of falling far behind West Indies’ 356.

The last three wickets then added 202, with Hridoy scoring 161 of them. He put on 117 for the eighth wicket with Taijul Islam and 85 with Taskin Ahmed, and Bangladesh finished 30 ahead.

He credited both partners after the innings.

“Taijul and Taskin played really well. The way they supported me gave me a lot of confidence.”

His 242 included 22 fours and a record 11 sixes. He passed the 219 set by his fellow Bogura-born idol Mushfiqur Rahim, and overtook Tamim Iqbal for the most sixes in a Bangladeshi Test innings.

No other Bangladeshi came close. The next highest score was Mushfiqur’s 34, which shows how much of the load Hridoy carried as wickets fell around him.