‘Only thought of scoring a ton when on 95’

The Bangabandhu T20 Cup on Tuesday saw an explosive innings from former Bangladesh Under-19 batsman Parvez Hossain Emon. The left-hander smashed the fastest T20 ton by a Bangladeshi on his way to helping Fortune Barishal keep their hopes of making the playoffs alive by chasing down a mammoth target of 221 against Minister Group Rajshahi with eight wickets in hand and 11 balls to spare in a match which saw a number of individual and collective milestones set. 

During the 42-ball 100, Emon struck seven sixes and nine fours, including the boundary with which he brought up his maiden T20 ton while ensuring a convincing victory for his side.

However, the 18-year-old said that he only thought about scoring a century at the latter part of his innings.

"Actually I did not think of scoring a century from the beginning. I only thought about it when I was on 95 and our team required five to win. That time I thought that I am now well set on the crease and can actually go for a century," said Emon today.

Chasing a mammoth target, Emon and Barishal skipper Tamim Iqbal strung together a crucial 117-run second-wicket stand. Tamim departed in the 14th over after a 37-ball 53 but only after giving some advice to the young batsman.    

"After Tamim [bhai] was dismissed, he told me to continue playing my natural strokes. You do not need to look at the [score] board. Just play your natural game," said Emon. 

Barishal, who are lingering at the bottom of the table with just two wins from six games, remain at the brink of exiting the tournament. They will be facing table toppers Gazi Group Chattogram tomorrow in a must-win encounter.