5th round ends in stalemates
With tropical cyclone Bulbul lashing the coastal areas of Bangladesh, all four fifth-round matches of the National Cricket League were affected and ended in draws on the fourth and final day yesterday.
In the Tier 2 match at the Sheikh Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi, skipper Marshall Ayub struck his 18th first-class ton for Dhaka Metropolis against Sylhet Division.
Dhaka Metro resumed the day on 245 for four with Marshall 27 runs shy of his hundred. He reached the feat off 169 balls and since then looked for quick runs before being dismissed on 163 off 212 balls with the help of 22 fours and a six.
Chasing the 356-run target in the last two sessions of the day, Sylhet eventually ended up on 187 for four, riding on fifties from Shanaj Ahmed (61) and Towfiq Khan (75). Dhaka pacer Taskin Ahmed picked up three wickets for 24 runs.
Sylhet are still on top of the Tier 2 points table with 26.55 points in five games while Dhaka are not far behind in second place with 21.91 points.
There was finally some cricket in the other Tier 2 game in Barishal after the first three days were abandoned due to rain and a wet outfield. Barishal declared their first innings on 70 for three in 13 overs, after which Chattogram ended the day on 45 without loss.
With 19.42 points Chattogram are in third place and Barishal are in last place with 17.62 points.
In Tier 1, Rajshahi’s Forhad Reza picked up all six remaining of Khulna, who added just 47 runs on the final day to be all out for 201 in the first innings.
The 33-year-old ended up with the figures of six for 48 from 20.1 overs, registering his ninth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
In reply, Rajshahi struggled in their second innings and eventually ended up on 191 for seven at stumps, with opener Avishek Mitra top-scoring with 51. It was Khulna’s experienced left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak who picked up four wickets, while pacer Abdul Halim also took two wickets for the side.
With three draws and two wins, Khulna remained on top of the Tier 1 table with 29.96 points while Rajshahi are in third place with 17.11 points.
In Bogura, Nasir Hossain -- who resumed on 104 -- finished on an unbeaten 161 off 283 balls with 19 fours and a six as Rangpur declared their second innings on 271 for nine and set Dhaka Division a 284-run target just before lunch.
Resuming the day on 200 for five, Nasir Rangpur looked to score some quick runs. The 27-year-old Nasir continued his good form to help post a challenging target.
Chasing the tempting target, Dhaka were in a spot of bother and were struggling on 68 for three before Raqibul and Taibur added 77 runs for the fourth wicket. Taibur however was dismissed on 24 but Raqibul Hasan hit an unbeaten 80 off 173 balls, which featured five fours and two sixes.
With four draws and a win in five matches Dhaka are in second place with 24.1 points.
SCORES IN BRIEF
RANGPUR V DHAKA
RANGPUR: First innings 234 and second innings 271 for 9 declared (Nasir 161 not out, Ariful 30, Naeem 32; Arafat 2-36, Taibur 2-37, Shahadat 2-68)
DHAKA: First innings 222 and second innings 176 for 4 (Arafat 36, Raqibul 80 not out, Taibur 24; Nasir 1-10)
Result: Match drawn.
RAJSHAHI V KHULNA
RAJSHAHI: First innings 151 and second innings 191 for 7 (Avishek 51, Farhad 28, Sabbir 25, Muktar 39, Sunzamul 23 not out; Halim 2-36, Razzak 4-69)
KHULNA: First innings 201 all out (Amit 59, Tushar 58, Nahidul 33 not out; Reza 6-48, Mohor 2-40, Muktar 2-40)
Result: Match drawn.
DHAKA METRO V SYLHET
DHAKA METRO: First innings 311 for 8 declared and second innings 395 for 6 declared (Azmir 80, Shamsur 37, Marshall 163, Zabid 30, Sharifullah 21 not out; Enamul 2-114, Kapali 2-59)
SYLHET: First innings 351 and second innings 187 for 4 (Shanaj 61, Towfiq 75, Galib 23 not out; Taskin 3-24)
Result: Match drawn.
BARISHAL V CHATTOGRAM
BARISHAL: First innings 70 for 3 declared (Shohag 44, Sayeem 21 not out; Ifran 2-13)
CHATTOGRAM: First innings 45 for no loss (Sadikur 14 not out, Pinak 30 not out)
Result: Match drawn.