Rajshahi, Rangpur complete win on fourth day
Sports Reporter
Rajshahi Division strongly came back in second innings filling the shortfall of the first inning and thrashed Sylhet Division by 151 runs on the fourth and final day of the fourth round in the Tier-2 match of the National Cricket League (NCL) at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra yesterday. Fast bowler Abu Jayed Rahis six-wicket burst steered Sylhet to bundle Rajshahi out for 204 in first innings, after which they took a paltry 15-run lead through pace all-rounder Abul Hasan Rajus 59 at No 9.
Medium pacer Farhad Reza snapped up five wickets and Mamun Hossain claimed four wickets for Rajshahi, who in reply compiled 344 largely thanks to Farhad Hossains outstanding 132 that set a staggering target of 330 for Sylhet. Farhad, who slammed 12th century in first class cricket, was named the player of the match for his glittering batting performance.
Chasing the target, Sylhet Division added 150 more runs at the cost of the rest nine wickets on the fourth and final day with their overnight 28-1. Spinning all-rounder Sunjamul Islam and Saqlain Sajib along with Forhad Reza made the most havoc in Sylhet innings. The trio claimed eight wickets off the fallen 10 wickets. Sunjamul scalped three for 15, while Saqlain hauled the identical three for 45. Forhad Reza snapped a brace for the winning side.
Overnight batsmen -Imtiaz Hossain and Zakir Hasan- hit 53-run for the second wicket before broke the stand. The right-handed opener Imtiaz fell for 32.
With the fall of Imtiaz, Sylhet Division therefore faced a mini-collapse and lost five wickets in the space of 29 runs while they are stuttering at 90 for six. The old campaigner Rajin Saleh tried to steady the ship with his fellow teammates but none came up with ably support from the other end as wickets were stumbling at regular intervals. Together with Shahanur Rahman (21), Rajin Saleh made a bit resistance and stitched together 39-run with for the seventh wicket partnership but that was not enough to avert the inevitable. Finally they were able to muster 178 before being all-out. The 33-year-old stroke-maker remained unbeaten on 75. He blasted 12 fours in his 126-ball patient innings.
On the other hand, Rangpur Division scripted a comprehensive 10-wicket victory over Chittagong Division in the other match of Tier-2 at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium.
Riding on Suhrawardi Shuvos dazzling century, Rangpur effortlessly recovered their first innings from the precarious 190-6. En route to 121, Shuvo hit 102 with Ariful Haque for the seventh wicket and another 130 with Alauddin Babu for the eight wicket stand. Both Haque (52) and Babu (64) completed their half-centuries before being dismissed after Liton Kumar Das, who smashed 73. Following the batting performance, Shuvo showed his grit with ball. He alongside Mohammad Saddam bagged three wickets each that guided Rangpur Division to skittle out Chittagong Division for 182 in first innings. Rangpur finally enforced the follow-on, after which Chittagong managed to score 297 in second innings, leaving Rangpur with just 30 to win. Pacer Ariful Haque was the most successful bowler, who bagged four wickets. Alauddin Babu and Suhrawardi Shuvo captured two wickets apiece.
