Towhid Hridoy’s rich vein of form continued on Tuesday as he brought up his third consecutive half-century of the ninth Bangladesh Premier League to power Sylhet Strikers to 201-8 against Dhaka Dominators at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.
Towhid hit a scintillating 84 off 46 balls while opener Najmul Hossain Shanto scored 57 off 39 balls after Dhaka asked Sylhet to take first strike.
Towhid, a 22-year-old, has now scored a half-century whenever he has come out to bat in BPL9.
The right-hander earlier made 55 and 56 against Fortune Barishal and Comilla Victorians respectively after not having to bat against Chattogram Challengers in Sylhet’s tournament opener.
Against Dhaka, Towhid brought up his highest ever score in a competitive T20 game.
Dhaka bowlers had a difficult day at the office with pacer Al-Amin Hossain and Taskin Ahmed claimed three and two wickets respectively.
In just the second over, Sylhet lost their opener Mohammad Haris (six), which brought Towhid to the crease.
Towhid and Shanto then added 88 runs off 56 balls for the second wicket to set up a base for a launch in the final overs.
Shanto, after hitting his maiden fifty of the season, departed off pacer Al-Amin. Zakir Hossain (10) and Thisara Perera (11) then made minor contribution at one end while Towhid unleashed an assault at the other end.
Towhid, who brought up his fifty off 32 balls, smashed five fours and the same number of sixes to take Sylhet near the 200-run mark.
Towhid’s brilliant knock came to an end in the final over of the innings, when his attempt to hit his sixth six got him caught at boundary.
Sylhet then crossed the 200-run mark when Mashrafe Bin Mortaza edged a ball behind the keeper for a four and finished on a formidable score.