DE Sports Desk :
Parvez Hossain Emon delivered a record-breaking performance to guide Bangladesh to a 27-run victory over the United Arab Emirates in the opening T20I of their two-match series at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
With a blistering knock of 100 off just 54 balls — including nine towering sixes and five boundaries — Parvez not only ended Bangladesh’s eight-year wait for a T20I century but also etched his name in the record books by hitting the most sixes in a T20I innings by a Bangladeshi batter.
His ton is Bangladesh’s first since Tamim Iqbal’s unbeaten 103 against Oman in the 2016 T20 World Cup.
Despite the lack of significant contributions from the rest of the batting lineup — no other batter crossed 20 — Bangladesh posted a competitive total of 191 for 7.
The explosive start, marked by 100 runs in the first 10 overs, gave way to a middle-overs slowdown before Parvez reignited the innings in the final stretch.
Bangladesh’s innings featured 13 sixes in total, the most by the team in a T20I match.
The match also marked a successful start to Litton Das’s tenure as Bangladesh’s full-time T20I captain.
Sent in to bat after losing the toss, Bangladesh opened with left-handers Tanzid Hasan and Parvez, opting to leave out senior player Soumya Sarkar.
Tanzid got off to a quick start but fell early for 10, while Litton Das followed for 11, bowled by a yorker from UAE’s Jawadullah, who ended with impressive figures of 4 for 21 and claimed his 50th T20I wicket.
Parvez, undeterred by the early wickets, launched a ferocious counterattack, reaching his fifty in just 28 balls.
He added a quick 48-run stand with Towhid Hridoy (20 off 15), but lacked sustained support from the middle order.
He survived a scare on 84 when he was caught off a no-ball, then accelerated again, reaching his century off the penultimate ball of the 19th over.
He was dismissed first ball of the 20th, as Bangladesh closed on 191.
In response, UAE’s chase began brightly, with skipper Muhammad Waseem taking the attack to the Bangladesh bowlers.
He raced to 54 off 39 balls, while Rahul Sharma chipped in with a quickfire 35 as the pair put on a 62-run stand that gave the hosts hope.
However, a fiery spell from Tanzim Hasan Shakib, who dismissed both set batters, tilted the momentum back in Bangladesh’s favour.
Despite a brief onslaught from Asif Khan — who smashed 42 off 21 balls, including three consecutive sixes — the UAE faltered under pressure.Bangladesh’s bowlers held their nerve, with Mustafizur Rahman using his variations expertly to trigger a lower-order collapse.
UAE lost their last five wickets for just 10 runs and were bowled out for 164 in 19.5 overs, handing Bangladesh their first T20I win in four attempts at Sharjah.
The teams will meet again on Monday for the second and final match of the series.