Two 100s on Day 1

Tanveer Haider and Farhad Hossain slammed hundreds on the opening day of the Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) yesterday. The wicket at Shahid Chandu Stadium in Bogra and Shahid Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi offered hardly anything to the bowlers but East Zone's new ball pair Abul Hasan and Abu Jayed still capitalized on foggy conditions in the first session to initiate an early collapse in Central Zone's first innings at Bogra. Tanveer Haider along with Marshall Ayub and Sharifullah however took away that initiative to put Central Zone in a comfortable position at stumps.

Central Zone were reduced to 26 for four but Haider joined Ayub to repair the damage with a 135-run fifth-wicket stand. Ayub gave a return catch to Jayed before making 76 off 143 balls, smashing nine boundaries. East Zone failed to cause further damage as Haider (108) and Sharifullah (89) remained not out during their 142-run stand.

"The wicket was batting friendly but the pace bowlers got movement in the early session due to overcast conditions. Tanveer then batted brilliantly," said Central Zone skipper Mosharraf Hossain.

At Rajshahi, honours were evenly poised on the first day. South Zone picked up wickets at regular intervals but North Zone finished the day at 291 for six thanks to a hundred from seasoned campaigner Farhad Hossain. Myshukur Rahman, Dhiman Ghosh and Naeem Islam all got starts but failed to convert those into big knocks, but Farhad reached the triple-digits during his three hour plus stay at the crease. Number seven batsman Ariful Haque also chipped in with unbeaten 62.

SCORES IN BRIEF
CENTRAL ZONE V EAST ZONE
CENTRAL ZONE: First innings 303 for 5 in 88 overs (Marshall 76, Tanveer 108 not out, Sharifullah 89 not out; Hasan 3-41, Jayed 2-60)
NORTH ZONE V SOUTH ZONE
NORTH ZONE: First innings 291 for 6 in 91 overs (Myshukur 30, Farhad 106, Ariful 62 not out; Tawhidul 1-18, Gazi 2-95, Razzak 2-118, Enamul 1-48)