Shahriar Nafees hits unbeaten ton, Bangla 232 for 6 against Zimbab

Jaipur, Oct 13 (UNI) Shahriar Nafees recorded the highest score by a Bangladesh batsman with his unbeaten 123 as his side, playing for pride, scored 232 for six in their final qualifying match against Zimbabwe of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium here today.

Shahriar thus contributed more than half the team's score and it was his second ton in the shorter version of the game. He survived a shaky start in the beginning and cramps towards the end but went on to play an invaluable 161-ball unbeaten knock that included 17 boundries besides a six.

Put into bat, a Bangladesh side that left out Mohammad Ashraful and Syed Rasel and pencilled in Rajin Saleh and Mehrab Hossain for the match, met early setbacks to be reduced to 26 for two before Shahariar Nafess and Saqibul Islam stemmed the rot.

Zimbabwe, which made three changes from their last match, tasted blood when Ed Rainsford trapped Saleh (6) for nine and Brendon Taylor then took a superb catch behind the stumps to return Aftab Ahmed (3), who had slammed 59 against the West Indies, off Anthony Ireland.

The Shahriar-Saqibul duo steadied the ship even though runs dried up with Zimbabwe fielders showing enough agility.

Shahriar survived a dropped chance and a close leg before appeal before unleashing couple of crisp drives to get into the groove, while it was the same story with wristy Saqibul who also survived tense moments before growing in confidence.

Saqibul's departure after a timely 37-run knock, part of a crucial 84-run third wicket partnership, had little effect on Shahariar, who found an able partner in skipper Habibul Basher (30), who finally avoided a hattrick of ducks and added another 80 runs to the team cause before Rainsford got the better of his defence. Zimbabwe grabbed two more quick wickets but Shahriar was unmoved and he carried his bat through to guide his side to 232.

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