Shadman double puts South Zone in control

BCB South Zone opener Shadman Islam struck his maiden First-Class double ton to put his side in the driving seat in the final of the 10th Bangladesh Cricket League against BCB Central Zone in Cox’s Bazar on Sunday.

Shadman’s 246 saw South Zone declare their innings on 500-5, and Central Zone managed 33-0 at the end of the second day’s play.

Shadman started the day off on 130 and extended his knock beyond 200 for the first time in his career. Before getting out, Shadman played 448 balls, where he hit 29 fours and three sixes, amassing a massive 246.

Alongside him, domestic veteran Marshall Ayub also picked up a century, staying unbeaten on 120 off 214 balls, hitting nine fours.

The day started a bit disappointingly for South Zone as they lost skipper Fazle Mahmud (61) early as Mushfik Hasan broke his 154-run partnership with Shadman.

However, the left-handed opener decided to go on and form another big partnership with Ayub as the duo added 218 runs for the fifth wicket before part-time off-spinner Mohammad Mithun put an end to Shadman’s monumental effort.

After Shadman’s departure, Moin Khan came in and played a brief cameo of 18 runs from eight balls, taking them to 500-5, when Mahmud decide to declare.