Fargana Hoque Pinky, who became the first
centurion of the country in International cricket, was elated to prove her
teammates’ predictions absolutely right.
All of her teammates believe if someone can hit maiden century for Bangladesh
in International cricket, it will be Pinky (Fargana’s nick name).
During the third and series deciding ODI against India, Fargana hit 107 to
etch her name in the Bangladesh’s cricket folklore. However, it was not
enough to win the game against mighty India but Bangladesh came up with a
never-say-die attitude to ensure that they won’t loss the game either.
They forced the India to tie the game and finally share the series, which is
considered as win-like situation.
“At the start of the tournament, I felt I was in good flow and I was getting
off to good starts,” Fargana said.
“All my team-mates always say if someone will score a century, it will be
Pinky. I am happy to prove it right.”
She went on to saying: “The plan was that if I batted long, we could get to
230. My hundred didn’t matter, the team getting runs was important. I was
just playing from ball to ball. I love to bat. It was a great opportunity for
me. So, I was just very happy to take it. My friends and family have always
supported me and that’s why I am able to bat like this. And not just me,
there are many good batters in the team who can do better than me.”
Captain Nigar Sultana Joty regretted for not making 5-10 runs more, which
could give them the assurance to win the match. Bangladesh put up 225-4,
their second highest total in ODI cricket after their 234-8 against Pakistan.
“Obviously, it was a great match, getting great experience. It will help us,
when we won the toss, we wanted to put on 230 runs, happy that Pinky got a
century. At the end of the day, we always think we are short of 5-10 runs.
The way the girls fought, it was unbelievable.”
“After the rain break, we were talking about the two ways the game would go –
either we will go hard on them or they will. Nahida bowled really well. To
all the bowlers, it was an excellent performance.”
She now wants to carry the momentum to make then a giant in the cricket
world.
“We are looking forward to carrying this moment. As a batting unit we
collapse usually, but from here, we can have many takeaways moving forward.
Crowds have been amazing throughout the tournament.”
Source: Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha