Shahriar Nafees...219

Former national opener Shahriar Nafees was the latest to join the century-spree in the National Cricket League as he guided himself to a career-high 219 on the third day of the second round of the National Cricket League yesterday.

In order to save the match, Barisal needed to bat well in their second innings at the BKSP as their opponents Khulna had taken a healthy 119-run lead after the first innings. And that's when Shahriar raised his bat. He stayed at the crease for close to six hours and smashed 32 fours.

A batsman who has been playing first-class cricket for more than ten years, the left-hander was extremely delighted to have finally scored a double ton.

“Every cricketer has landmarks and I am glad to have reached one that I always wanted to. While I was batting I took it step by step in my head. My first target was the century and then I wanted to overcome my highest first-class score, 138, which I scored against Australia. Eventually I reached that figure,” Shahriar told The Daily Star yesterday.

“After I reached 180, my target was to take it safe and take 20 singles. The innings has bestowed a new belief in me. I can say that now I know the process of scoring a big knock,” he added.

Nafees's career-best score has ensured that Barisal take a 224-run lead in the game. With six wickets in hand and just one more day left, the match is headed for a draw.

Meanwhile at Fatullah, Dhaka Metro tried their best to recover from their disastrous collapse in the first innings, which saw them get bundled out for 90. They managed to finish on 373 for 8 and now trail by 62 runs. However, unless something remarkable happens, Dhaka are expected to cruise through to their second win of the league.

At ground number three at the BKSP, Liton Kumar's century helped Rangpur take a firmer grasp of the match, as they finished on 300 for 8 and took the lead to over 400 runs. A late blitz from Muktar Ali and Sanjamul Islam helped Rajshahi take their total over 400 at Mirpur. Muktar later bowled a brilliant spell to reduce Chittagong to 195 for 5.