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Soumya Sarkar slams record double-ton as Abahani win 20th DPL title

The opening batsman's unbeaten 208 is the first List A double-century by a Bangladeshi

Mohammad Isam
Mohammad Isam
23-Apr-2019
Soumya Sarkar became the first Bangladeshi batsman to hit a List A double-century  •  BCB

Soumya Sarkar became the first Bangladeshi batsman to hit a List A double-century  •  BCB

Soumya Sarkar's record-breaking unbeaten 208 propelled Abahani Limited to their 20th Dhaka Premier League title on the last day of action in Bangladesh's domestic season.
Thanks to Soumya's blazing innings, Abahani topped Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club's 317 for 9 easily, winning by nine wickets and getting there with 17 balls in hand. In the process, Soumya became the first Bangladesh batsman to score a double-century in a List A game.
The 20th title, meanwhile, helped Abahani stretch their lead over Mohammedan Sporting Club in the overall DPL trophy-winners' list: they now have 12 more than their old rivals' eight.
Soumya struck 14 fours and 16 sixes in his 153-ball knock, mostly peppering the long-on, long-off and midwicket boundaries at the Bangladesh Krira Shikkha Protisthan (BKSP) No. 3 Ground, where he struck 106 in the previous game as well.
Chasing a big target in the List A game, Soumya and Jahurul Islam put up 312 for the first wicket, now a record for any wicket in the format in Bangladesh, to put their team within a stroke of victory.
Jahurul's 100 off 128 balls included seven fours and three sixes, but he was largely a support act for Soumya, who finished the game with his seventh six off Taijul Islam. He also struck legspinner Minhajul Abedin Afridi for four sixes, Nasir Hossain and Elias Sunny for two each, and Mehrab Hossain for one.
The win put Abahani on 26 points from 16 games, the same as Legends of Rupganj, who beat Prime Bank Cricket Club by 88 runs in their final game, which was played simultaneously. But Abahani's superior net run-rate (0.866 to 0.517) helped them to the top of the table. Had Rupganj beaten Abahani in their previous game, they would have lifted the trophy for the first time.
In the other Super League encounter of the day, Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club beat Mohammedan by three runs to finish third on the table.
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.

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84