Khulna comfortably placed at the top
Tier 1 leaders Khulna division were comfortably placed at 227 for five before rain spoiled the afternoon action on the first day of the second-round game against Dhaka Metropolis yesterday.
Opting to field first at Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium, paceman Mohammad Shahid made early inroads by removing Imrul Kayes in the third over but, despite lack of big partnerships, Khulna cruised along with a 3.90 run-rate and managed to gather a respectable total.
Tushar Imran (54) and Mohammad Mithun (87*) joined in the middle for the fourth wicket and added 63 runs while Anamul Haque at the top chipped in with 34 runs. Soumya Sarker’s dismal outing in the longer-version continued as he made just 14 runs batting at No 6.
Dhaka fail to convert starts
In the other Tier 1 match in Bogra, Dhaka division’s batsmen failed to capitalise on their starts as they were deprived from getting to a better position against Rangpur division. 265 for six on day one is a score any batting team will be happy with, but lack of concentration in the middle should be a worry for the Dhaka think-tank.
Rony Talukdar, who had a below-par experience with the national and A team recently, made 59 and Raqibul Hasan’s 52 were the only half centuries while Abdul Mazid (32), Saif Hasan (33), Myshukur Rahman (35) all fell in the 30s. Discarded Tigers left-arm spinner Sohrawardi Shuvo bagged three wickets for Rangpur.
Barisal batsmen back on track
After two poor seasons, which saw them getting placed in Tier 2 of the National Cricket League, Barisal have finally shown signs of improvement. The current leaders in the group with nine points, Fazle Mahmud Rabbi’s 103 was the highlight of the first day in Khulna.
The Sylhet bowlers toiled hard to get wickets as veteran wicket-keeper Shahin Hossain (58) and Shahriar Nafees (52) set the tone of their innings with an 116-run opening stand.
Coming in at No 3, Rabbi struck nine fours and three sixes in his 120-ball knock that enabled Barisal to reach 295 for five in just 69 overs, at a run-rate of 4.27, in their first innings. Sohag Gazi batted in his natural posture and hammered two fours and equal sixes to score 28 off 19 balls while Mosaddek Hossain was unbeaten on 31.
Rajshahi bulldozed by Chittagong
It was one of those rare matches where you see the Iqbal brothers, Tamim and Nafees, open the batting but the anticipated event lasted for just four deliveries as dashing southpaw Tamim returned for a duck in the first over bowled by Rajshahi’s veteran campaigner, 6’2” Shafaq al Zabir. Nafees too disappointed by scoring just six runs, but that hardly threw Chittagong out of the game.
The port-city side rode on young wicketkeeper-batsman Irfan Shukkur’s 102 which came after Mominul Haque and Yasir Ali added 122 for the fourth wicket. It was a relief for the national selectors to see Mominul back among the runs as the left-handed batsman, who is often compared to legendary Don Bradman for his prolific average of 56 in Test cricket, faced 107 balls for his 90. 19-year-old Yasir also scored 91 and was involved in a 90-run partnership with 22-year-old Irfan.
Chittagong will resume today with 346 for eight on the scorecard.