Marshall magic muscles Metro
The second round of the National Cricket League came to an exciting end yesterday with teams battling it out to produce two draws and two wins.
While each of the four games witnessed its own share of thrill, it was the top tier matches that garnered a majority of the attention on the final day.
At the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka Metro's Marshall Ayub scored his second century of the match to deny Khulna a victory, a result which seemed imminent after the first session yesterday. Metro were following on and were reduced to 35 for 4 after an hour's play.
That's when Marshall and Asif Ahmed stepped up to produce a fighting century stand and reignite Metro's chances of enforcing a draw. The fifth wicket pair shared a 143-run stand and ensured that the Khulna bowlers toil under the heat. Sure enough, they were aided with some defensive captaincy from the Khulna skipper, but that aspect of course can't take much away from the beauty of the stand.
Asif, who hit two sixes and eleven fours, departed after scoring 70. He was replaced by Mehrab Hossain Jr, who along with Marshall batted out the day. Marshall remained unbeaten on 115. His outstanding effort in the match, that also included a fine 104 in the first innings, earned him the player-of-the-match award.
The other top tier match at Bogra saw Dhaka smash 55 runs in just 4.4 overs of the fourth innings to complete an eight-wicket win over Rangpur. After being asked to follow on, Rangpur started the final day on 55 for 3 and not many had expected them to put up a fight. But a century from Sohrawardi Shuvo kept Dhaka at bay. Not only did he score a century, but he also spent six hours at the crease and with some support from the tail helped Rangpur to battle 111 overs and take the innings late into the tea session before being bundled out for 255.
It left Dhaka with a tough proposition of scoring 55 runs from a maximum of seven overs for a victory. But they did it in style with Shuvagata Hom smashing an unbeaten 40 off 21 balls, which contained fours sixes.
At Tier Two, hosts Rajshahi overcame a first innings deficit to register a seven-wicket win over Chittagong. A brilliant opening stand from Junaid Siddique and youngster Nazmul Hossain Shanto, which saw them share 193 runs, laid the foundation. Rajshahi reached their target of 257 immediately after lunch.
19-year-old Mosaddek Hossain, who had scored a double century in the first innings, struck a fierce 61 in the second as the other match between Barisal and Sylhet in Khulna ended in a draw.
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