Fargana Hoque Pinky scored the maiden One Day International century for Bangladesh women and entered the record books.
Opener Fargana crossed the 100-run milestone in the last ball of the 48th over with a boundary during the third ODI against India in Mirpur Saturday.
She got run out in the last ball of the innings after scoring 107 off 160 deliveries with seven fours.
The previous highest score for Bangladesh women in ODIs was 75 by Rumana Ahmed and Salma Khatun jointly in back-to-back matches against India in Ahmedabad in 2013.
Fargana usually bats at No 3, where she featured in the first two matches of the series, making 27 and 47 respectively.
Management decided to promote her to opening and she performed a brilliant anchoring role to guide Bangladesh to a challenging total.
“At the start of the tournament, I felt I was in good flow and I was getting off to good starts. All my teammates always used to say, if someone eventually scores a century, it will be Pinky. The plan was if I batted long, we could get to 230,” Fargana said after the match.
“My hundred didn't matter, the team getting runs was important. I was just playing 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 being able to bat like this. And not just me, there are many good batters in our team who can do better than me."
Fargana also has a Twenty20 International hundred to her name which came against Maldives in Pokhara at the 2019 South Asian Games.
She is one of the most experienced players in the women's team as she has played 56 ODIs so far and accumulated 1,240 runs with an average of 25.83.
She has also turned out in 84 T20Is, garnering 1,253 runs thus far.
Riding on Fargana's brilliant hundred, Bangladesh managed to score 225 runs losing just four wickets in their stipulated 50 overs.
It was Bangladesh's second highest total in ODIs with the highest posted against Pakistan (234) in 2022.
Bangladesh managed to hold their nerve and eventually managed a dramatic tie as the series ended 1-1.
Mehrab Hossain Opi's name has already been registered in the history books as the first ever batsman to score an ODI ton (against Zimbabwe in 1999) for Bangladesh.
Now, Fargana's name has been cemented as well as the first ever Bangladesh woman to hit a hundred in the 50-over format.
