Habibur Sohan blasts 35-ball ton, sets new record

Opening batter Habibur Rahman Sohan created history on Saturday by scoring the fastest T20 century ever by a Bangladeshi batter during Bangladesh ‘A’ team’s opening match of the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament against Hong Kong, China.

The 26-year-old achieved the milestone in spectacular fashion, hammering an unbeaten 100 off just 35 balls.

Sohan’s extraordinary innings not only delivered Bangladesh ‘A’ a flying start to the tournament but also broke two national records in a single outing.

He reached his half-century in a blistering 14 balls, surpassing Shuvagata Hom’s previous 16-ball record. Minutes later, he raced to his maiden T20 hundred off 35 balls, eclipsing Parvez Hossain Emon’s 42-ball century set during the 2020 Bangabandhu T20 Cup.

The innings began with a bang as Sohan launched Ateeq Iqbal for three sixes in the opening over. He maintained the momentum with three fours and a six in the next over, followed by two more sixes in the third, bringing up his record-breaking 14-ball fifty.

Continuing his assault, Sohan punished Ehsan Khan for two fours and two sixes and Atik for a four and back-to-back sixes to reach 88 off just 24 balls. By the end of the powerplay, Bangladesh ‘A’ were cruising at 107 without loss.

Once the field spread, Sohan adopted controlled aggression, adding just one more boundary but smartly rotating the strike to reach his historic milestone. He finished unbeaten on 100 off 35 deliveries, hitting 8 fours and 10 sixes, which now ranks as the joint second-highest number of sixes in a T20 innings by a Bangladeshi batter. The national record of 11 sixes is jointly held by Tamim Iqbal and Najmul Hossain Shanto.

Sohan’s explosive knock also cemented his place as Bangladesh’s fastest century-maker across formats. He previously held the record for the fastest List A hundred by a Bangladeshi, scoring a 49-ball ton and surpassing Mashrafe Bin Mortaza’s 50-ball effort.

NSA