INDW vs BANW: Fargana Hoque reveals inspiration behind her historic century

Mirpur, July 23 (IANS) Bangladesh batter Fargana Hoque has admitted that she gained inspiration from her male counterparts as she created history by becoming the first women from her country to score an ODI century in the thrilling third and final match, here.

Fargana battled cramps and a sore forearm when scoring a superb 107 during an exciting tied contest on Saturday, with the right-hander claiming the Player of the Series award for her efforts in helping Bangladesh register a 1-1 tie with India.

The experienced batter had come in at No.3 during the first two matches of the series, but a promotion to the top of the order in the final clash saw the 30-year-old struck the first century by a Bangladesh player in women's ODI cricket.

While Fargana later revealed she had some nervous moments in the 90s, she said she gained inspiration from a pair of Bangladesh male players after watching them perform similar exploits when reaching triple figures at international level earlier in the year.

"I hadn't scored a hundred at this level, but I saw people making centuries. I saw Mushfiq (Mushfiqur Rahim) bhai score a hundred. I saw (Najmul Hasan) Shanto bhai score two hundreds recently. I looked at how they spent time in the middle," Fargana was quoted as saying by ICC. 

"I didn't think of scoring a hundred here but it was about batting every ball on its merit. When I reached 96, I panicked a bit. I played out a few deliveries. But I told myself that to be a good batter, I have to bat till the end. My friends were disappointed when I got out on 47 in the last game. I tried to stick to the process, which helped me get a big score," she added. 

Bangladesh captain Nigar Sultana was full of praise for Fargana and believes the fact her side managed to tie the series bodes well for the future.

"We are quite happy with the overall outcome. We would have been really happy had we won the series. I feel we have taken a respectable step forward. Many people (in Bangladesh) didn't know who plays in the Bangladesh team. Now people will recognise who is Nahida (Akter), who is (Fargana Hoque) Pinky, who is Marufa (Akter)," Nigar said. 

"I think this itself is an achievement. It was nice of the cricket board to say positive things about us too. They came to see our matches. The crowd supported us. The media is promoting us," she added.