The left-arm spinner made a night without sleep worth it when he hit West Indies occasional leg-spinner Ramnaresh Sarwan for four through extra cover to join an exclusive club of centurions batting at number nine.

But it was a matter of sadness for Rafique's family and friends living at Aganagar, Keraniganj as they missed the finest moment because of a blackout, a part of life in Bangladesh.

"We were all glued to the television but unfortunately failed to watch his feat because of load-shedding. It is very painful for me and especially our eldest daughter Shila who always wanted to see her father in action," said Rafique's delighted wife Shilpi yesterday.

She said they only came to know of Rafique's magic moment through a BCB office-bearer later in the morning.

Rafique scored 103 in Bangladesh's first innings total of 406-9 on Day Two at St Lucia. The superb knock was not only a milestone for the southpaw but also helped the Tigers surpass their highest innings total in Test cricket, which was exactly 400 in the inaugural match against India in 2000.

"Once we learned that that he had scored a hundred we were anxiously waiting for a call from him. Our endless waiting ended at 5pm. He was speechless for a few seconds before asking whether we had seen his innings," said Shilpi, adding that it did not really matter now for her since she always believed that her husband had the ability.

Although the inhabitants of Keraniganj, which lies across the river Buriganga, had been deprived of watching a local icon they made it up by arranging a grand celebration.

The people of the locality sang, cheered and beat drums all the way to Rafique's home.

A popular player for all ages Rafique was the talk of the town.

"I always love to see Rafique on the field. He is my favourite cricketer but unfortunately I switched off my television when play did not resume due to rain late last night. I couldn't believe it when my friend told me in the morning that Rafique had scored a century," said Rafiqul Islam, a bus driver.

Those who had the chance to watch spent much of Sunday analyzing how the innings was constructed.

"Still, it's like a dream. To score a Test century coming at number nine, unbelievable. We were not surprised when Sumon (Habibul Bashar) hit a magnificent hundred but Rafique's one is something special," said the former national opener Jahangir Alam, who was one of the few night-watchers.

Former national captain Khaled Mahmud was also delighted.

"It is something special for Bangladesh cricket. I believe Rafique's century has given our team a big dose of confidence and we should now use it to carry the momentum," said the diminutive all-rounder, who returned home after the one-day series in West Indies.

"I was simply excited but not surprised. I believe that he can do anything with ball or bat. You can't compare anybody with Rafique because of his never-say-die attitude," said ex-Bangladesh captain Akram Khan, who unfortunately missed it.