The 19th National Cricket League got off to a rollicking start on Friday with former national captain Mohammad Ashraful scoring a well-made hundred for Dhaka Metropolitans against Chittagong on the opening day at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong. Rangpur’s Naeem Islam and Dhiman Ghosh also made tons against defending champions Khulna on top-tier, helping their side to score 325-6 at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna.
Sylhet were struggling at 123-9 against Rajshahi in Tier-2 at the end of day one after rain washed out first session’s play at the Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi.
Another bottom-tier match between Dhaka and Barisal could not take place due to wet outfield of the Sheikh Kamal International Stadium in Cox’s Bazar.
Chittagong v Dhaka
Dhaka Metro had a terrible start in their first innings as they were reduced to 74-4 after winning the toss and electing to bat first against Chittagong.
Veteran Ashraful and his former national team-mate Mehrab Hossain Jr added 174 runs for the fifth wicket to help their side overcome the poor start and end the day with 257-5.
Ashraful scored his 19th first class century, first after his return to National Cricket League last year, but could not finish the day on a high note as he was caught after scoring 104 runs off 194 balls with 12 fours and two sixes.
Mehrab remained unbeaten on 65 while Mehedi Hasan Rana and Shakhawat Hossain took two wickets each for Chittagong.
Khulna v Rangpur
Bangladesh one-day international captain Mashrafee bin Murtaza was back in white jersey for Khulna in a first-class game for the first time since January 2014 but he could not make it memorable as the bowler finished the day without picking up a wicket against Rangpur.
Mashrafee’s return was overshadowed by Naeem and Dhiman, who scored 120 and 105 runs respectively while opener Saymon Ahmed hit 50 to end the first day in a strong position against the hosts.
Rangpur found themselves in a difficult position after losing their first four wickets for 94 runs but Naeem resisted their innings with Ariful Islam (30 runs) and wicket-keeper Dhiman, scoring 83 and 148 runs for the fifth and sixth wicket respectively.
Pacer Al-Amin Hossain and spinner Abdur Razzak claimed three wickets each for the reigning champions.
Sylhet v Rajshahi
Saqlain Sajib picked up three wickets and Farhad Reza and Muktar Ali took two wickets each as Rajshahi restricted Sylhet to 123-9 in the first day in the rain-hit match while Imtiaz Hossain top scored with 38 runs for the visiting side at Rajshahi.
Brief Scores
Stumps, Day 1
Khulna v Rangpur
Rangpur 1st innings 325-6 in 87.3 overs (Naeem 120 not out, Dhiman 105, Saymon 50; Al-Amin 3-50, Razzak 3-87)
***
Chittagong v Dhaka
Dhaka 257-5 in 90 overs (Ashraful 104, Mehrab jr 65 not out, Saykat 38; Mehedi Rana 2-47, Shakhawat 2-56)
***
Sylhet v Rajshahi
Sylhet 123-9 in 66.1 overs (Imtiaz 38; Saqlain 3-24, Muktar 2-12, Farhad 2-30)
-With New Age input
