Rajshahi Kings batsman Sabbir Rahman’s brilliant 61-ball 122-run innings against Barisal Bulls in Mirpur on Sunday is the highest individual score in the history of the Bangladesh Premier League Twenty20. He leapfrogged the previous record of 116 scored by Barisal Bulls' Chris Gayle against Dhaka Gladiators in 2012.
Sabbir’s hundred is the first century in BPL 4. In the previous three editions, a total of eight centuries were scored. He is the third local player to score a century after Mohammad Ashraful and Shahriar Nafees. But Sabbir is the fastest centurion among the trio as he reached his hundred in 53 balls, as opposed to Ashraful's 56 balls and Shahriar's 67 balls.
It was raining fours and sixes at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium when Sabbir was batting. He hit nine fours and as many sixes during his memorable knock. Rajshahi were set a huge total of 193 by Barisal. This year’s BPL has not witnessed a high-scoring match as the pitches were relatively slow. But Sabbir's knock made it look so easy to score runs. Unfortunately, he ended up in the losing side as Rajshahi fell four runs short of their target.
The right-hander though played some astonishing shots during his innings and tried his best to guide his side to the huge target. He hit some huge sixes over the mid-wicket and long-on region. It was not pre-meditated, brutal hitting from the Rajshahi cricketer but delicate. The two fine Dilscoops off the bowling of Abu Haider Rony are prime examples of his sheer class.
Despite the superb knock, Sabbir ended up in the losing side and he said after the game that individual performances count for little when the team loses.
Sabbir raises his bat after reaching his hundred “Everything depends on winning for your side. If you score one and that contributes to victory for your team then it is more satisfying than scoring a hundred and losing the game. Winning for the team is the most important thing for me. No matter I score one or 10, I always want to win for the team. I scored 122 [Sunday] but it is a very bad feeling for me that we lost eventually. We should have won the match. We were in a winning position. But unfortunately, we lost,” Sabbir told the media.
Sabbir believes among the three formats, he enjoys T20 the most. He said he always had the confidence that he will score big someday.
“T20 is always my type of game. I always believe, T20 gave me the opportunity to play for the national team. And then I played for the ODI team and eventually I got selected for the Test side. So I reckon T20 is the format for me. I had the belief that one day I will score big and luckily, I scored 122 from 61 deliveries. But I know someday someone will break it as well,” he said.
Barisal batsmen Shahriar Nafees and Mushfiqur Rahim also batted superbly in the first innings but Sabbir’s majestic innings eclipsed them all. Sabbir’s knock was regarded as one of the best by his skipper Darren Sammy.
“Sabbir played brilliantly. It is one of the best T20 innings I have ever seen in the recent past,” said Sammy.
Barisal’s Shahriar also praised Sabbir for his brilliant effort.
“The way Sabbir batted, we thought we were 30-40 runs short [Sunday] despite setting a big target (laughs). He is a brilliant player to watch. He is a brilliant find for Bangladesh cricket. I think this is the best T20 innings I have witnessed in this country,” concluded Shahriar.
Article - Dhaka Tribune.
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