Sanjit shines on bowlers' day
Players from the current Bangladesh under-19 team continued to shine in the ongoing National Cricket League. After Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Mehedi Hasan Miraz put in fighting performances for their respective divisions in the first two days, it was 17-year-old Sanjit Saha's turn to grab the spotlight with his turners on Day Three.
The off-spinner from Rangpur almost singlehandedly dismantled hosts Khulna's batting line-up in their second innings with figures of 7 for 64 yesterday. It gave bottom-placed Rangpur a great opportunity to beat Khulna, who are in second position. Rangpur were set with a modest target of 200 runs to win.
However, Sanjit's under-19 colleague, Miraz, and veteran left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak had other plans in mind. Right after Khulna were dismissed for 208, Miraz and Razzaq brought on a mighty collapse for Rangpur, reducing them to 58 for 6 by stumps. The fact that Nasir Hossain's side needed 38 overs to score those 58 runs further illustrates the haphazard state the Rangpur batting was in.
While Razzak took four wickets, including the crucial one of Nasir, Mehedi's off-spinners removed opener Saymon Ahmed and two-down Tanvir Hayder. With a day to go, Khulna will hope they can secure their first win of the competition.
The day got better for Razzak and Co as Dhaka's mini collapse against Dhaka Metro in Fatullah meant that Khulna have a chance to go to the top of Tier One.
Dhaka Metro managed to gain a slender lead over Dhaka, with left-arm spinner Mosharraf Hossain scalping five Metro wickets, his third consecutive five-wicket haul in the campaign. He bowled a mammoth 49 overs for figures of 5 for 20.
Mosharraf, however, might feel a little aggrieved with the tame reply that the batsmen of his side came up with later. Dhaka slumped to 65 for 4 in the last session and will have to work hard to save the match on the last day.
Metro's Shahidul Islam took two wickets while spinners Mahmudullah and Arafat Sunny took one each.
The game between hosts Chittagong and Barisal has arguably been the least entertaining of the lot in this round. After the port city declared at 467, Barisal's batsmen made came up with an equally good reply, ending the day at 345 for 9.
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