Can Khulna stretch lead?
4th round of NCL to begin today
The fourth round of the National Cricket League (NCL) will begin across four venues from today. Tier 1 table-toppers Khulna Division will take on Rangpur Division in Bogura while Rajshahi Division will host Dhaka Division. In Tier-2 Barisal will lock horns against Sylhet in Cox’s Bazar and host Chittagong Division will take on Dhaka Metropolis.
Courtesy of their left-arm spin duo of Sunzamul Islam and Saqlain Sajib, who bagged five wicket each in the second innings, Rajshahi registered a magnificent six-wicket win over Rangpur in the previous round. With that win, Rajshahi jumped to the second position with 13.11 points while Khulna sits on top with 17.25 points after one win and two draws in three games.
It was Khulna’s wicketkeeper-batsman Anamul Haque who registered back to back hundreds in each innings against Dhaka and the cricketer will be looking to continue his form to make a possible comeback to the national team.
Dhaka Division are in third place with 10.2 points and they will surely miss their prolific scorer Saif Hassan, who struck a double hundred in the second round and earned a maiden call-up to the Tigers’ Test squad for the two-Test series in India. Rangpur, with one defeat and two draws, are at the bottom of the table with 6.72 points.
In Tier 2, after a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Sylhet Division, Chattogram Division top the table with Barishal Division and Sylhet Division not far behind at second and third respectively. Dhaka Metropolis, who are still at the bottom of the table despite managing to draw their previous game against Barishal, courtesy of Mohammad Ashraful’s hundred on the last day, which was coincidentally the day that Shakib Al Hasan was suspended for two years by the ICC for failing to report approaches from a bookmaker.