Towhid Hridoy hits record-breaking double century for Bangladesh in second Test against West Indies

SYLHET Bangladesh batter Towhid Hridoy converted his maiden century into a double century to lift his team into a dominant position in the second and final cricket test against West Indies on Saturday. His masterclass helped Bangladesh reach 386, taking a 30-run lead in the first innings from a near-hopeless situation. West Indies was 7 for no loss when bad light forced early stump.

Hridoy was unbeaten on 242 off 359, smashing 22 fours and 11 sixes. He became the fourth Bangladeshi batter to hit a double century after Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal and also passed Mushfiqur's 219 to become the highest individual scorer for the country. The batter led the side astutely when Bangladesh appeared to concede a big first innings lead after West Indies was bowled out for 356.

“It's unbelievable how he was still able to find boundaries and hit sixes even when he started getting tired,” Bangladesh coach Phil Simmons said of Hridoy. “He showed outstanding game awareness, knowing which shots to play and when to give the last three batsmen the strike.