Soumya Sarkar has become the first Bangladeshi batsman to score a double century in the List-A cricket.
He scored unbeaten 208 in the last match to help Dhaka Abahani Limited lift the Dhaka Premier Division Cricket League (DPDCL) crown at Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BKSP) ground on Tuesday, reports UNB.
Soumya Sarkar's magical innings off 153 balls with 14 fours and 16 sixes guided Dhaka Abahani Limited to reach the landmark of clinching Dhaka league crown for 20th time.
They beat Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club by nine wickets in a high-scoring match. He also struck 106 in the previous game as well.
With the feat, Soumya has surpassed Raqibul Hasan, who was the holder of the record of hitting the biggest innings of 190 runs in the Dhaka League.
With Soumya's blazing innings, Abahani Limited toppled Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club's 317 for 9 in 50 overs easily with 17 balls to spare making 319 runs for 1 in 47.1 overs.
Chasing the big target in the List A game, Soumya and Jahurul Islam put up 312 for the first wicket stand, now a record for any wicket in the format in Bangladesh, to put their team within a stroke of victory.
Playing the highest individual innings of the Dhaka League, Soumya hit 16 sixes which is also the record of striking most sixes in an innings of the league. He also hit 14 fours as well. The southpaw ended up on unbeaten 208 off 153.
Earlier, Sheikh Jamal won the toss and opted to bat first.
Tanbir Hyder was at his best as he came to bat at number six and hit his maiden ton in List-A cricket. Tanbir returned with unbeaten 132 off 115 balls with 10 fours and six sixes.
Besides him, Elias Sunny and Mehrab Hossain scored 45 and 44 respectively to pass the 300-run mark. For Abahani, Mashrafe Bin Mortaza bagged four wickets while Mohammad Saifuddin, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mosaddek Hossain and Soumya Sarkar took one wicket each. Soumya was adjudged man of the match for his record-breaking knock.
With the day's well-merited victory, Abahani scored 26 points from 16 games, the same as Legends of Rupganj, who beat Prime Bank Cricket Club by 88 runs in their last game also on Tuesday. But Abahani's superior net run-rate (0.866 to 0.517) helped them clinch the title.
In the other two last round matches, Legends of Rupganj beat Prime Bank Cricket Club by 88 runs and Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club beat Mohammedan Sporting Club by three runs.
At Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Legends of Rupganj batted first and posted 327 for four wickets relying on Mohammad Naim's 136 and fifties from Mehedi Maruf (54) and Mominul Haque (52).
For Prime Bank, Mohor Sheikh, Nahidul Islam, Abdur Razzak and Nayeem Hasan took one wicket each.
In reply, Prime Bank tumbled for 239 all-out in 42.1 overs. Nahidul was the best batsman hitting 74.
For Rupganj, Mohammad Shahid bagged four wickets while Nabil Samad and Muktar Ali took two wickets each for them. And in the end, Rupganj won the game by 88 runs. Mohammad Naim was awarded the man of the match for his ton.
In Fatullah, Prime Doleshwar posted 274 for six with the help of Saif Hassan (55), Shykat Ali (65) and Forhad Hossain (89). Mohammedan failed to chase the target of 275 as they tumbled for 271/9 in 50 overs and lost the match by three runs.
Farhad was the man of the match for his 89.
Uttara Sporting Club and BKSP have been demoted, while Brothers Union survived the playoffs. They will now play in the Dhaka First Division Cricket League, from which Old DOHS Sports Club and Partex Sporting Club earned promotion to the 2019-20 Dhaka Premier League.