Bangladesh wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim struck 75 in his first National Cricket League appearance in two years as all four matches Friday rolled on the field simultaneously after rain marred the previous day’s play.
Mushfiq top-scored for Rajshahi, facing 116 balls and hitting seven fours and three sixes, as the side posted 173 losing six wickets in 66 overs, trailing Dhaka by 67 runs in the first innings at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah.
Opener Jahurul Islam was not out on 57 and put together 121 for the fourth wicket for Rajshahi alongside Mushfiq.
Dhaka’s Sumon Khan led the bowling attack with three wickets.
Earlier, the capital city outfit, resuming on their overnight score of 143 for the loss of seven wickets in 51.5 overs, added 97 losing their remaining three wickets in 24.2 overs.
Taibur Rahman was stranded on 88 not out off 123 balls, featuring nine boundaries and a maximum, while opening batsman Rony Talukdar made 63.
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.https://t.co/GNwtS0aoTW#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BANGLADESHCRICKET #BANGLADESH #CRICKET #NCL
— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) October 10, 2019
Rajshahi’s Taijul Islam and Shafiul Islam bagged four and three wickets respectively.
In the other tier one game, Rangpur registered 169 on the board for five wickets in 72 overs against Khulna at Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium.
No play took place on day one as Naeem Islam and Tanbir Hayder made 48 and 40 not out respectively for Rangpur.
Khulna’s Al Amin Hossain and Abdur Razzak notched two wickets apiece.
In the tier two match between Chittagong and Dhaka Metropolis at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka, left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny picked up a six-for as the port city side were all out for 290 in 122.5 overs.
Sunny conceded 87 runs for his six wickets in 39.5 overs, including a dozen maidens, while all-rounder Mahmudullah, playing his first game in four years, picked up three.
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
Tasamul Haque scored the highest 90 for Chittagong, his painstaking knock spanning 249 balls and featuring seven fours.
By the end of the day’s proceedings, Dhaka Metro made 66 for two wickets in 24 overs, national discards Shamsur Rahman and Marshall Ayub remaining unbeaten on 26 and 21 respectively.
Dhaka Metro trail Chittagong by 224 runs.
The other tier two game between Sylhet and Barisal at Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi saw the least action among the four matches as only 31 overs of play was possible on day two after the opening day was washed out.
Sylhet scored 68/3 with stumper-batsman Zakir Hasan not out on 32.
Barisal seamer Kamrul Islam Rabbi picked up two wickets.
21ST NCL, ROUND 1, DAY 2
Tier 1
Rajshahi 173/6 in 66 overs (Mushfiq 75, Jahurul 57*) trail Dhaka 240 in 76.1 overs (Taibur 88*, Taijul 4/92) by 67 runs
Rangpur 169/5 in 72 overs (Naeem 48, Tanbir 40*) v Khulna
Tier 2
Sylhet 68/3 in 31 overs (Zakir 32*, Kamrul 2/13) v Barisal
Dhaka Metro 66/2 in 24 overs (Shamsur 26*, Marshall 21*) trail Chittagong 290 in 122.5 overs (Tasamul 90, Arafat 6/87) by 224 runs