The opening day of the 21st edition of the National Cricket League was marred by rain as only two matches out of four rolled on the field at different venues across the country Thursday.
In the tier one match at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah, Dhaka posted 143 runs losing seven wickets in 51.5 overs, opener Rony Talukdar top-scoring with 63 off 114 balls, featuring five fours and a couple of sixes.
Birthday boy Rony and No 3 batsman Joyraz Sheikh (35) added 80 for the second wicket in the face of some devastating bowling by Rajshahi.
Left-arm spinner Taijul Islam bagged four wickets while right-arm pacer Shafiul Islam took three.
In the other tier two game that did get underway, Chittagong registered 147 for the loss of three wickets in 51 overs against Dhaka Metropolis at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.
Unlike the past few seasons, the first-class cricket tournament based on divisional teams of the country has attracted decent attention with participation of players from the current national setup.https://t.co/DN1xVHmZh1#CRICKET #BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BANGLADESHCRICKET #NCL
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) October 10, 2019
The port city outfit’s opening batsman Tamim Iqbal, who is playing in the country’s premier first-class tournament after four years, was out for 30 as he shared 80 for the opening wicket with Sadiqur Rahman (51).
Pinak Ghosh was unbeaten on 30, alongside Tasamul Haque (17).
All-rounder Mahmudullah led the attack for Dhaka Metro with three wickets.
The tier one match between Khulna and Rangpur at Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna and tier two game between Barisal and Sylhet at Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi saw no action at all owing to persistent rainfall throughout the day.
21ST NCL, ROUND 1, DAY 1
Tier 1
DHAKA 143/7 in 51.5 overs (Rony 63, Taijul 4/55) v RAJSHAHI
Tier 2
CHITTAGONG 147/3 in 51 overs (Sadiqur 51, Mahmudullah 3/40) v DHAKA METRO