Asia Cup snub fuelled a fire
Less than 24 hours after Ariful Haque returned from the UAE, where he warmed the bench for Bangladesh in the Asia Cup, the right-hander smashed a hundred for Rangpur on the opening day of the National Cricket League and went on to complete his maiden double century in the Tier-1 encounter against Barishal at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogura yesterday.
Ariful, resuming the second day on 117, was eventually dismissed on 231 runs off 325 balls, featuring 21 fours and four sixes, as Rangpur posted 502 all out in the first innings.
"As I was batting with the tail-enders on the second day, I tried to keep the strike. I looked for boundaries off almost every fourth ball and also looked for singles off the last ball of each over to take the strike for the next over," Ariful told The Daily Star after the day's play.
"There were times in the Asia Cup where I heard that I might play the next match but eventually, I found out that I won't. That was mentally challenging for me but it made me more determined. This double hundred will boost my confidence," he added.
In reply, Barishal ended the day on 91 for 1 with Rafsan Al Mahmud set to resume on 53 runs.
At the Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi, the hosts are in the driving seat of their Tier-1 match against Khulna, courtesy of opener Mizanur Rahman's 10th first class hundred. Mizanur smashed 16 fours and two sixes in his 115-run knock while skipper Jahurul Islam hit 91 not out. Rajshahi, who already lead by 236 runs, will resume the third day on 446 for six.
Dhaka Division are also dominating Chattogram in their Tier-2 fixture at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah. Rony Talukdar struck an unbeaten century while partner Abdul Mazid remained not out on 66 as Dhaka Division posted 176 without loss in their second innings.
Earlier, Chattogram were all out on 142 in their first innings after resuming the day on 25 for 2. Dhaka Division pacer Shahadat Hossain picked up four wickets.
Meanwhile, Sylhet struggled against Dhaka Metropolis in their Tier-2 encounter at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, ending the day on 132 for six to trail by 294 runs.
Left-arm spinner Arafat Sunny scalped four while Mohammad Ashraful took two wickets for Dhaka. After resuming the day on 332 for four, Dhaka were all out on 426 as Sylhet's left arm spinner Enamul Haque Jr. bagged six wickets and registered his 33rd first-class five-wicket haul.
HIGHLIGHTS
Although he did not feature in any of Bangladesh's matches in the recently concluded Asia Cup, Ariful Haque grabbed an opportunity in the domestic circuit as he smashed his maiden double hundred, which was also the first of the season. It was also the 48th first-class double hundred in the domestic competition.
He may have played his last Test match for Bangladesh five years ago but left-arm spinner Enamul Haque Jr. has been a prolific wicket taker in the domestic circuit. The 31-year-old bagged yet another six wickets in an innings to take his tally of first-class five-wicket hauls to 33.
In recent years, Rony Talukdar has become a name which is up there with the top ten run getters in domestic competitions. The right-hander once again began the season with yet another hundred, which was his ninth first-class ton.
Opening batsman Mizanur Rahman has been scoring centuries quite regularly in the recent first-class competitions. The right-hander struck three in the previous edition of the National League and followed that up with another two in the Bangladesh Cricket League. Mizanur struck his first hundred of the league and 10th first-class century overall.