Anamul Haque’s Second T20 Century in Style—11 Years Later, Same Ground
In the final over, Anamul Haque Bijoy reached his second T20 century, smashing a boundary and a six. Fittingly, his first century also came on this very ground back in 2013.
As the ball sailed over the boundary from a pull shot, Anamul fell to the ground at the crease. Realizing the six had sealed his century, he removed his helmet, dropped to his knees, and stretched out on the pitch, lifting his bat and helmet toward the sky. Moments later, he stood up with a big smile, savoring the moment, as his batting partner Nurul Hasan Sohan embraced him warmly.
Anamul began the final over on 88, but he wasn’t on strike. A quick single from Sohan brought him back. On the second ball he faced, a boundary took him into the 90s. Two runs on the fourth ball brought him closer before the fifth delivery—a massive six—completed his hundred.
Playing for Khulna Division in the National Cricket League T20, Anamul scored an unbeaten 101 off 67 balls against Dhaka Division on Tuesday morning in Sylhet. His innings included 10 fours and 5 sixes.
This was Anamul’s second T20 century, with the first coming in December 2013 at the same venue, when the ground was simply known as the Sylhet Stadium. Representing Prime Bank Cricket Club in the Victory Day T20, he had smashed 105 runs off 63 balls against Mohammedan Sporting Club.
In this year’s tournament, Anamul had struggled initially, scoring only 46 runs across his previous four matches, including a duck. This innings, however, delivered the response his team was waiting for.
The knock was quintessential Anamul—punctuated with brilliant shots, a few slower patches, and bursts of big hitting to compensate.
He scored 33 runs off 22 balls during the powerplay and brought up his fifty in the 10th over with a slog sweep for six off Shuvagata Hom. However, between the 12th and 16th overs, Anamul couldn’t find the boundary, leaving him at 63 off 52 balls after 16 overs—his century seemingly a distant goal.
But the 32-year-old kicked into high gear in the final overs. He struck two boundaries off Iman in the 17th over, followed by a six off Nazmul Islam Apu in the next. In the penultimate over, he hit a four and a six off Salauddin Sakil, setting up his thrilling final-over finish.
The last over was bowled by Iman, the Player of the Match and Player of the Tournament in the recent Under-19 Asia Cup. Sohan took a single off the first ball, giving Anamul the strike. An inside edge for four followed. He missed the third ball, but on the fourth, he scrambled two runs with urgency. Then came the defining moment: a short ball that Anamul pulled into the stands for a six, completing his century. He took a single off the final delivery to remain unbeaten.
Nurul Hasan Sohan supported Anamul with a brisk 34* off 23 balls, as Khulna Division posted 180/3 in their 20 overs.
Anamul’s ton marked the second century of the National League T20. In the opening match, young opener Zisan Alam hit 100 off 53 balls with 10 sixes. That same day, Dhaka’s Ariful Islam fell just short with 94 runs, while Tamim Iqbal later scored 91 for Chattogram.
