Batsmen rule Day 1

Ten batsmen scored 50-plus on the first day of the second round of the National Cricket League yesterday, but only two converted those into centuries. Chittagong’s wicketkeeper-batsman Irfan Sukkur scored a gritty 102 against hosts Rajshahi while Barisal’s top-order batsman Fazle Mahmud cashed in on a good batting track in Khulna by scoring 103 off 120 deliveries.

The postponement of the Australia series saw the return of the national players to their respective divisions. All the players from the 14-member squad for the Australia series featured for their respective divisions yesterday, except for Rubel Hossain, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim.

Rubel, who had injured himself during Bangladesh A's tour of India, will be out of action for at least three weeks. Shakib and Mushfiqur, on the other hand, are on leave.

Amongst the national players, Mominul Haque shone with a score of 90 for Chittagong. His national teammate Tamim Iqbal however, was sent back to the pavilion for a duck.

Chittagong ended on a strong 346 for 8 at stumps on Day One. Apart from Mominul and Irfan, Yasir Ali contributed with a valuable 91. Left-arm medium pacer Shafaq Al Zabir was the pick of the bowlers for Rajshahi, finishing with figures of 3 for 40.

Fazle's century led Barisal to 295 for 5 at the close of play against Sylhet. Fazle, who smacked three sixes and nine fours, was well supported by openers Shahriar Nafees and Shahin Hossain, who scored 52 and 58 respectively.

Half-centuries from Rony Talukdar and Rakibul Hasan helped Dhaka finish on 265 for 6 against Rangpur at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra. The team's score could have been a lot better had Dhaka's players managed to make the most of their starts. Most of them, unfortunately, lost their wickets after crossing the 30-run mark.

Left-arm spinner Suhrawardi Shuvo, with three wickets, was the pick of the bowlers for Rangpur.

The match at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur saw half-centuries from Mohammad Mithun and veteran Tushar Imran lead Khulna to 227 for 5 at the end of Day One. Mithun, who remained unbeaten on 87 yesterday, has a good chance of reaching his century.

SCORES IN BRIEF 

KHULNA V DHAKA METRO
KHULNA: 227 for 5 
(Mithun 87,Tushar 59; Shahid 1-32, Abu Haydar 1­-46)

DHAKA V RANGPUR
DHAKA: 265 for 6 
(Rony 59, Rakibul 52; Suhrawardi 3-70, Tanveer 2-31)

BARISAL V SYLHET 
BARISAL: 295 for 5 
(Fazle 103, Shahin 58, Shahriar 52; Enamul 2-54, Abul 1-26) 

CHITTAGONG V RAJSHAHI 
CHITTAGONG: 346 for 8 (Irfan 102, Yasir 91, Mominul 90; Shafaq 3-40, Muktar 2-56, Taijul 2-89)