Watch: Fortune Barishal’s Iftikhar Ahmed hit three consecutive sixes off Pakistan teammate Haris Rauf en route to his maiden T20 ton, off only 45 balls, during a BPL 2023 clash against Rangpur Riders on Thursday.

Batting at No.6 and walking out after his team had been reduced to 46-4 within the powerplay, Iftikhar combined with skipper Shakib Al Hasan to steady the innings. The Pakistan batter started off cautiously and was batting at 22 off 20 at one point before he got going with four maximums in the 14th over, bowled by Shamim Hossain.

Iftikhar was also given a life in the very same over when he was batting on 47 off 25 after being dropped at short third, and did not look back, reaching his fifty in 30 deliveries before shifting into attacking mode.

His next 50 runs came in only 15 deliveries, a period of play that saw him hit four boundaries and as many sixes, three of which came against his Pakistan national teammate Rauf.

Rauf was unable to nail the yorker in the third ball of the 19th over, which Iftikhar made full use of as he smashed it over long-on. He got a top-edge on the next delivery and it sailed over deep backward square and then completed a hat-trick of maximums by pulling a shorter ball in the exact area again.

Iftikhar, who remained unbeaten on 100, stitched together a 192-run stand with Shakib, the highest-ever in the history of the BPL for any wicket, including scoring 73 in the last three overs. Their stand helped Barishal post 238-4 on the board, the second-highest total in the competition.

Shakib was unbeaten on 89 off 43 deliveries, and the team went on to win by 67 runs.

Watch Iftikhar’s innings here:

🔥 Iftikhar's first T20 hundred
🔥 A record 192-run stand between Iftikhar and Shakib

An eventful evening in the #BPL2023 pic.twitter.com/BUENyuhmxA

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) January 19, 2023