Shahriar Nafees continued his good form in the practice matches as the left-hander hit 72 against the GP-BCB National Cricket Academy team in a rain-interrupted day at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur yesterday.
The national batsmen looked quite uncomfortable against the young academy bowlers and the 104-ball 72 from opener Nafees, who slammed a hundred in the previous two-day match against the same opponents at the same venue, helped the seniors to post 258 runs before being all out in 59.3 overs.
Left-arm spinner Shaker Ahmed dismissed Nafees, who smote thirteen boundaries, but the batsman was not happy with the verdict of the umpire and expressed his anger in an unsporting way.
The other top order batsmen however failed to capitalize on their last opportunities of making some runs before the demanding trip to Zimbabwe as Imrul Kayes scored 20 while Junaed Siddiqui got out cheaply for eight and Mohammad Ashraful failed to score facing 12 balls.
Wicketkeeper batsman Mushfiqur Rahim (18) and Mahmudullah Riyad (29) got off to good starts but failed to carry on.
The second highest score in the team came from Shuvagoto Hom Chowdhury, who made 36 off 38 balls with six boundaries and one over boundary while Shafiul Islam produced another big-hitting display as the right-hander smashed three fours and as many sixes to score a run-a-ball 34.
Pacer Sohag Gazi was the most successful academy bowler with four for 94 while Mohammad Al-Amin and Shaker took two wickets each.
The Academy lost two wickets for 24 runs before the day’s play was finished. Pacer Robiul Islam and left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak claimed one wicket each.
The Tigers will play their last practice match today at home before leaving the capital on July 27 to play one Test and five one-day internationals in Zimbabwe.
-With The Daily Star input
