Chittagong, Khulna in driving seat in NCL

Riding on Yasir Ali’s 94 runs, Chittagong are now in the driving seat having posted 419 in the first innings at stumps on day two in the 19th National Cricket League’s round two. The day was uninterrupted and Chittagong faced 96 overs. Their innings resumed on 97 for two with Yasir and Tasamul Haque unbeaten on eight and 10 respectively. The third-wicket partnership was broken on 113 after Tasamul got run out by Mukhtar Ali for 37. Yasir however, held the other side of the crease and built a 40-run stand for the fourth wicket with Irfan Sukkur before getting dismissed for 94. Yasir’s 163-ball innings included 14 boundaries and two over boundaries. Chittagong captain Irfan added 65 to the tally before Nazmul Hossain cleaned him up. The innings saw the third half-century when Sazzadul Haque posted 68 to the board while Iftekhar Sajjad added another 43. Nazmul and Saqlain Sajib picked up two wickets each for Rajshahi.

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Also read: Mehedi, Tushar star in rain-hit NCL

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Meanwhile in Khulna, centuries from Mehedi Hasan and Tushar Imran aided Khulna to post a mammoth total while Monir Hossain topped the Barisal bowlers’ chart with a seven-for. Khulna resumed their first innings on 348 for three. Mehedi, who started on 165, was only able to carry his innings to 177 before Monir pinned the batsman in front. Nurul Hasan and Moinul Islam added 33 and an unbeaten 22 respectively to propel the Khulna total to 444 before losing all their wickets. Monir topped the bowlers’ chart with seven for 85 in 34.3 overs and surpassed his previous best bowling figure of six for 27 in an innings in the format. Replying to Khulna’s innings, Barisal were shaky initially, losing their top-three batsmen with only 13 on the board. Two unbeaten half-centuries - Rafsan al Mahmud’s 58 and Nuruzzaman’s 52 - aided the side put some runs on the board. Barisal at stumps scored 171 for six and currently trail by 273. Khulna’s Abdur Razzak and Al Amin Hossain bagged two wickets each. The other two games in tier one and two got called-off on the second day too due to wet and soggy outfield.BRIEF SCORESTier 1Khulna 444 in 124.3 overs (Mehedi 177, Tushar 132) lead Barisal 171/6 in 55 overs (Rafsan 58*, Nuruzzaman 52*) by 273 runsTier 2Chittagong 419/8 in 139 overs (Yasir 94, Sajjadul 68) v Rajshahi