Hosts Bangladesh rewrote the history books yesterday at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium as they strode to a comprehensive eight-wicket victory over Pakistan in the third ODI to register a historic whitewash.
Besides the Bangladesh bowlers, centurion Soumya Sarkar was one of the chief architects behind the victory while Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim played their part exceedingly well to give the Tigers their 10th overall series sweep. Soumya though stole the show for himself with a fine, unbeaten 127 off 110 balls, becoming the 14th Bangladesh cricketer to score a ODI hundred.
Soumya came into the limelight during the 2015 ICC World Cup where he provided solid starts to his side only to come up short once he reached 20s or 30s.
The wait for a maiden hundred, however, did not elude him for long as he smashed a brilliant ton yesterday to announce his grand arrival in world cricket.
“I was getting out in the 20s and 30s. And, to be honest, I was thinking about it and was a little concerned. I talked to the seniors about this. The majority of them told me to carry on with my own game and not to think about it and that I will overcome it eventually,” player-of-the-match Soumya told the media after the game.
“So, I started on a similar note today (yesterday). When I first saw my score on the board, it was 18 and I gave myself a thought that, okay, that was done quite smoothly and that I should convert now. So, I did not do anything different today (yesterday),” he said.
The 22-year old cricketer from Satkhira expressed his delight and said he was delighted after contributing heavily to a win.
“It is very special because this is my first hundred. I am really happy with the fact that I was able to witness the whitewash,” he added.
Soumya reached his hundred with a scintillating six off Pakistan ODI skipper Azhar Ali but did not burst into a wild celebration. He simply swung his bat a couple of times before coming to a sudden halt while his partner, Mushfiqur Rahim, approached him and gave him a hug. Explaining the celebration, Soumya said, “It is a habit. I do not celebrate much whenever I do anything big. The shot to get to 100, it did not go far. It just went over the fielder and I did not think it would go all the way. At the same time, I had cramped immediately. When I saw that it was six, the cramp was not there. Maybe it was not there at all! At the end of the day, my celebration came from my heart if you ask me.”
Bangladesh skipper Mashrafe bin Mortaza, meanwhile, credited the whole team for the series sweep and reserved special mention for Soumya.
“We often joked that he will reach his maiden hundred in the next World Cup if he batted like the way he did in the earlier games. But, he batted using his brain and talent. It was a brilliant innings,” said Mashrafe.