Cricket
Rahim shines with double-ton
2013-03-11 14:09
Galle - Mushfiqur Rahim on Monday became the
first Bangladeshi to crack a double-century while Nasir Hossain hit a
maiden ton as the tourists gained a 68-run lead in the first Test
against Sri Lanka.
Skipper Rahim hit a solid 200 and Hossain an
impressive 100 as Bangladesh were bowled out for 638, their highest
total in 76 Tests, in reply to Sri Lanka's first-innings total of 570-4
declared.
The hosts reached 116-1 in their second innings at
stumps on the penultimate day of the Test heading for a draw in Galle.
Opener Tillakaratne Dilshan was unbeaten on 63 and Kumar Sangakkara 49
not out.
Rahim's memorable moment came in the second over after
lunch when he pushed paceman Nuwan Kulasekara for a single to the covers
on a day when Mohammad Ashraful (190) missed out on his own Test
double-hundred.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Rahim, 24, was trapped
leg-before by Kulasekara in the same over, but not before helping
Bangladesh surpass their previous highest Test total of 556 against the
West Indies in Dhaka last year.
Bangladesh, who dominated the
match for a second successive day with their solid batting, also became
only the third team after India and Pakistan to score 600 or more in a
Test innings in Sri Lanka.
Rahim, 152 overnight, hit one six and
22 fours in his brilliant 321-ball knock. He put on a record 267 for the
fifth wicket with Ashraful and 106 for the next with Hossain.
Bangladesh's
previous highest stand for any wicket in Tests was 200 between Tamim
Iqbal and Junaid Siddique against India in Dhaka in 2010.
Hossain was caught at mid-wicket by Sangakkara off part-time spinner Dilshan after hitting nine fours.
Ashraful,
playing his first Test in more than a year, added just one to his
overnight score when he went for a rash drive off left-arm spinner
Rangana Herath and edged a catch to captain Angelo Mathews at first
slip.
He occupied the crease for more than a day, hitting one six and 20 fours in his marathon 417-ball knock.
Ashraful
earlier survived a confident appeal for a catch at leg-slip off the
first ball of the morning while attempting to reverse-sweep Dilshan.