Mashrafe smashes records with his maiden ton

Kalabagan Krira Chakra captain Mashrafe Mortaza hammered his name into the record books with the fastest century in List A cricket for Bangladesh against Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium, Fatullah today.

Mashrafe came out to bat in the 36th over to give his team some much needed impetus, and before he was dismissed in the second last over of the innings, he smashed Sheikh Jamal bowlers all around the park like a man possessed, and scored 104 runs in just 51 balls to propel Kalabagan KC to 316 for 7 in 50 overs after Sheikh Jamal captain Mahmudullah elected to field first.

The whirlwind ton contained 11 sixes and 2 fours, a record for the most number of sixes struck in an innings for Bangladesh in List A cricket. The Mad Max reached his fifty in 35 balls with a four and four sixes, but then decided to unleash his batting prowess like never before. The next fifty runs were made in only 15 deliveries when Mashrafe smacked seven more sixes to the unbridled joy of his teammates.

Mahmudullah used seven bowlers today, and all except Sohag Gazi and Arafat Sunny had a miserable day at the field. After his 1-31 against Cricket CS on May 10, Sohag picked his best bowling figures in the ongoing DPL with 2-39 in his quota of ten overs. Arafat was wicketless, but gave away only 37 runs.

At the BKSP No. 3 ground, Kalabagan Cricket Academy didn’t have a good day with the bat as they were skittled out for only 186 in 47.3 overs after Gazi Group Cricketers captain Alok Kapali won the toss and decided to bowl first.

After a decent start, Kalabagan began to lose wickets as they approached the half-way mark of their innings. When they were tottering at 6-159 in 41 overs, Gazi Group bowlers went for the kill and polished off the tail without much fuss. Jatin Saxena’s 44 in 33 balls with six fours and two sixes was the anticlimax to a rather dreary performance by the other batters. Mahmudul made 41 from 77.

Gazi Group captain Alok Kapali had an outstanding day with the ball, as he picked up his best bowling figures in List A cricket after 176 matches to his name. He blew away Kalabagan CA’s middle order with five wickets for 44 runs in 10 overs. Saeed Anwar jnr supported his captain with two wickets, and conceded only 27 in ten steady overs.

At the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Cricket Coaching School captain Rajin Saleh won the toss against Brothers Union led by Tushar Imran and invited this opposing captain to bat first. Brothers made a fantastic start, and reached 253 for 6 on the back of opener Shahriar Nafees’s sixth ton in List A cricket.

Shahriar made a majestic 134 from 147 balls. He struck 14 fours and five sixes in his first century in DPL 2016, and is carrying on his good form after his unbeaten 84 against Prime Bank in his last match. Imrul Kayes was the second highest scorer for Brothers today with 49 runs, but the rest of batsmen failed to capitalize and lost their way in the end.

For Cricket CCS, Saleh Ahmed Shawon was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets in 10 overs for 45 runs. He grabbed his best bowling figures in DPL 2016 today. Mehrab and Nasum picked up a wicket each.

Scores in brief:

Kalabagan Krira Chakra 316/7 in 50 overs (Mashrafe 104, Masakadza 45, Sohag 2-39)

Kalabagan Cricket Academy 186 all out in 47.3 overs (Jatin 44, Mahmudul 42, Kapali 5-44)

Brothers Union 253/6 in 50 overs (Shahriar 134, Imrul 49, Saleh 4-45)