Bowlers tame batsmen in NCL
Sports Reporter
Bowlers dominated the proceedings on the third day of the fifth round of the National Cricket League (NCL) as the result looked obvious in most of the four games at different venues across the country.
In Tier-1 game, Khulna who declared their first innings on 511 for eight forced Barisal Division following on after shooting them out for 296 at Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi. At stumps Barisal were 80 for one in its second innings, still trailing by 125 to make Khulna batting for the second times.
Veteran left arm spinner Abdur Razzak and Nahidul Islam derailed Barisal innings after they resumed the 94 for four. Both Razzak and Nahidul returned figures of three for 89 and 51 runs respectively to cause the damage. They were ably supported by Al-Amin Hossain and Robiul Islams two wickets apiece.
Sohag Gazi made highest 65 for Barisal while Moin Khan made 61. Saiman Hossian was the other notable scorer with 51 in their first innings. Before the bails were drawn for day three, Rafsan Al Mahmud and Fazle Mahmud were batting on 47 and 29 runs respectively.
In another Tier-1 game, Dhaka Division came up with a painstaking batting show against Rangpur Division at Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khunla. Resuming the day on 54 for one, they reached 295 for six at the end of the third day. Shuvagat Hom made highest 67 while Minhaj Khan scored 62. Roqibul Hasan added 51. Rangpur earlier declared the first innings on 560 for eight with Naeem Islam hitting his maiden double century. As the first innings of the both team is yet to be finished, this game seemed to be heading towards a draw.
In Tier-2 game, Sylhet Division to a 236-run lead against Dhaka Metro after ending the third day on 176 for eight at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. Thanks to Enamul Haque Junior five for 96, Sylhet bowled out Metro for 256 and thereby took a 60-run first innings lead.
Nihaduzzman however didnt allow them batting freely as Sylhet lost wicket at regular intervals before the bails were drawn. Nihad took four wicket and kept the match alive.
In another Tier-2 game, Chittagong Division are in precarious position in their game against Rajshahi at Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra.
Resuming the 229 for five, Rajshahi were bowled out for 403 and took a handy 143 runs lead against Chittagong who was shot out for 260 in their first innings. Chittagong then reached 109 for three in its second innings on day three and still was trailing by 34 runs.
The first-leg of the National Cricket League will be concluded today. It will be followed by the second-leg of the two-tier league championship. 4 teams are being played in each tier. The bottom team of Tier-1 will be demoted to Tier-2 and the champions of Tier-2 will be promoted to Tier-1.
Cricket fans are eagerly waiting to see a batting record in the second-leg as Khulnas veteran batsman Tushar Imran is approaching fast to complete 10,000 runs in the first class cricket in Bangladesh. He needs another 94 runs to reach the milestone. Incidenatlly he is also the record holder of highest number of first class centuries among the Bangladeshi batsmen. So far he made 24 centuries.
