Young South African Player Sets Record by Scoring 150 Runs in ODI Debut Match

25 years ago, on September 8, 2001, Mohammed Ashraful achieved a historic feat in cricket by astonishing the world with his Test century. At the young age of just 17 years and 61 days, he scored a sensational century that continues to be discussed.

This momentous match took place at the Sinhalese Sports Club stadium in Colombo between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. In the first innings, Sri Lanka scored 555/5 runs. In response, Bangladesh lost, losing all 90 runs in the first half of the game, creating a deficit of 465 runs.

Under such difficult circumstances, Mohammed Ashraful demonstrated outstanding play, scoring 114 runs in the second half of the match. Thanks to this innings, he became the youngest player to score a century in the history of Test cricket.

Despite Ashraful's brilliant performance, the Bangladesh team could not avoid defeat. In the second innings, they were bowled out for 328 runs, and the match ended with the team losing by 137 runs.

Ashraful's achievement marked the breaking of a long-standing record. Previously, this record belonged to Mushtaq Mohammad of Pakistan, who scored 101 runs against India in 1960-61 at the age of 17 years and 78 days. At that time, Bangladesh was considered a weak team, so Ashraful's innings became a new ray of hope for Bangladeshi cricket.

In the match, Sri Lanka showed strong play: Marven Atapattu scored 201 runs, and Mahela Jayawardene scored 150 runs. For their combined contributions to the match, including 10 wickets taken by Mutaiy Murlidirna and Ashraful's century, both players were named 'Player of the Match'.

In Test cricket, Ashraful played 61 matches, scoring 2737 runs at an average of 24.00, including 6 centuries and 8 half-centuries, with a highest score of 190 runs.

In ODI format, he played 177 matches, scoring 3468 runs at an average of 22.23, with 3 centuries and 20 half-centuries, and his best score was 109 runs.

In T20 International, he participated in 23 matches, scoring 450 runs at an average of 19.56 and a strike rate of 126.40, without scoring any centuries but recording 2 half-centuries, with his maximum score reaching 65 runs.

Young Bangladeshi batsman Tauhid Hridoy created a sensation in South Africa during an unofficial match against South Africa A. He scored an unbeaten 350 runs, setting a historic achievement.

In this significant innings, Hridoy surpassed 481 balls, hitting 27 fours and 10 sixes. During this match, he set several notable records. The match started on September 30 and concluded on September 2. Previously, South Africa A had won the first unofficial match between the two teams by a margin of 413 runs. A three-match ODI tournament is scheduled soon between the teams from September 6 to 12.

During the post-Test session on the fourth day of the match in Potchefstroom, Hridoy broke Tamim Iqbal's national record in Bangladesh First Class cricket. Tamim previously scored 334 runs without being dismissed in a Bangladesh Cricket League match in Dhaka in 2020. Hridoy surpassed this figure by scoring 350*. He is now the highest run-scorer among all Bangladeshi batsmen in First Class cricket.

Furthermore, Hridoy became the third Bangladeshi player to achieve a triple century in First Class cricket. Before him, this feat was accomplished by Tamim Iqbal and Rakibul Hasan. Rakibul achieved this in 2007 in a National Cricket League match, scoring 313 runs without being out.

Tamim Iqbal, who is now the chairman of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB), expressed joy over the breaking of his record. He wrote on Facebook that records are made to be broken, and he is glad that his record was broken. Tamim called Hridoy's innings exceptional, noting that it is not only a personal achievement but also a symbol of the progress of Bangladeshi cricket.

The most outstanding feature of Hridoy's innings is that he became the first Bangladeshi batsman to score a triple century in First Class cricket on foreign soil. Before him, only Shariar Hossain from Bangladesh A had achieved a double century in 2003. Hridoy significantly surpassed this mark, reaching 350 runs.

Hridoy also set a major record in South Africa. His innings became the largest individual score by a foreign batsman playing First Class cricket in South Africa. The previous holder of this record was Denis Compton, who scored 300 runs against North-Eastern Transvaal in 1948. Hridoy surpassed Compton's record by scoring 350*.

Despite scoring 350*, Hridoy ranks second in the highest individual score in First Class cricket in South Africa. He surpassed Daryl Cullinan's score (337*). Steven Cooke remains the leader with 390 runs.

This innings is particularly important for Hridoy because the stadium in Potchefstroom is linked to a long memory from his career. In 2020, the Bangladesh U-19 team won the U-19 World Cup at this very ground, and Hridoy was part of that team.

When he reached 200 runs on the third day of the match, he shared his joy on social media. He mentioned that he debuted in First Class cricket in his hometown of Bogura, and now he has reached a double century on the same field where Bangladesh won the World Cup in 2020. He made this innings even more special by taking it to 350*.

Hridoy received excellent support from the other end of the pitch in this marathon innings. Jaker Ali scored 94 runs, and Hridoy and Jaker built a partnership of 151 runs for the fifth wicket. After this, Mohammad Saifuddin played 87 runs, adding 185 runs with Hridoy for the sixth wicket. Rezaur Rahman Raja, coming in at number 10, also supported Hridoy well, scoring 31 runs without being out off 110 balls.

Thanks to Hridoy's 350* and the contribution of other batsmen, Bangladesh A declared its innings, scoring 676/8. In response, South Africa A batted for 12 overs, scoring 18 runs without losing any wickets. After this, both teams agreed to a draw. Although the two-match unofficial series did not benefit Bangladesh A, Tauhid Hridoy's innings set the biggest record of the entire series.