Mushfiqur hits Bangladesh milestone

Captain Mushfiqur Rahim became the first Bangladesh player to make a double century on another run-filled day against Sri Lanka in Galle.

All eyes were on Mohammad Ashraful on the fourth morning of the firts Test as he resumed 11 short of the landmark, but he added just one run before being dismissed for 190.

Mushfiqur, 152 not out overnight, did complete the job, though.

He made exactly 200, with 22 fours and a six, while Nasir Hossain added a maiden hundred of his own as the Tigers made a historic 638 all out - a lead of 68.

But any hopes that the record-breaking scores might contribute to a win evaporated on a Galle pitch that continued to offer a woefully uneven contest between bat and ball.

Sri Lanka ended the day 48 in credit on 116 for one, with day five now likely to be an exercise in formality.

Ashraful lasted five tentative overs before charging Rangana Herath and edging to slip where Angelo Mathews held on.

Yet there was no rush of wickets.

New man Hossain got off the mark with a four, while Mushfiqur quickly set about adding to his own tally.

Both men found the boundaries with regularity as the Sri Lankan bowlers struggled to win the battle against unhelpful conditions.

Spin duo Herath and Ajantha Mendis would have been particularly disappointed at the lack of pitch deterioration on the penultimate day.

Hossain needed just 61 balls to bring up his half-century, including five fours, but the focus was on Mushfiqur.

A swept four off Mendis took him past Ashraful's mark but he went scoreless from his final six deliveries of the session to reach lunch on 198.

He wasted no time after the restart, picking up two singles in quick time to etch his name into the history books.

The moment may have been too much for the diminutive wicketkeeper, though, and he was gone three balls later without adding another run - Nuwan Kulasekara with an lbw.

Sohag Gazi chipped in with a breezy 21 before falling to Mendis, while Hossain continued fluently at the other end.

His hundred occupied 147 balls before he turned Tillakaratne Dilshan to midwicket.

Dilshan also claimed Elias Sunny for a duck before Shaminda Eranga wrapped up a memorable innings by bowling Shahadat Hossain.

Home opener Dimuth Karunaratne failed to cash in on the cheap runs on offer, hooking Shahadat to the catcher at fine-leg to go for three.

But thereafter normal service was resumed.

Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara added 99 runs without further loss before stumps, the former reaching 63no in 87 balls and the latter closing one short of his half-century in a 78 ball stay.