Defending champions Khulna became the only team to clinch a victory in the second round of the National Cricket League when they defeated Barisal by 239 runs at home on Monday.
The three other matches were ended in draw with not a single ball being bowled in four days in the match between Dhaka Metropolitan and Sylhet at Cox’s Bazar.Khulna v Barisal
Chasing a target of 403 runs, Barisal resumed on 32-0 but soon lost their way
in the face of left-arm spin bowling of Abdur Razzak and Moinul Islam, who shared eight wickets between them to help Khulna dismiss the opponent for 163 runs in their second innings.
Razzak finished with 5-32 taking his tally to nine wickets in the match while Moinul returned with 3-19.
Barisal opening batsman Fazle Mahmud staged a lone battle hitting 88 off 171 balls with eight fours and three sixes.
He shared 58 runs with Salman Hossain (27) in the opening stand before Barisal crumbled to be dismissed in 61 overs.
Mahadi Hasan of Khulna was named the man of the match for his magnificent 177 runs in the first innings and a crucial 28 runs in the second innings.
Chittagong v Rajshahi
Rajshahi fell 18 runs short of vital first-innings lead as they were all out for 415 runs replying to Chittagong’s 432 in the drawn match the Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi.
Chittagong scored just one run in one over before both teams accepted the draw in the tier-2 match.
Hosts Rajshahi resumed the fourth day’s play on 147-1 but lost their unbeaten overnight batsman Jahirul Islam, who was dismissed for 79, adding just four runs to his innings in the morning.
His overnight partner Nazmul Hasan Shanto also couldn’t last long and was bowled by Belal Hossain after making 38.
Junaid Siddique and Farhad Hossain rescued their team with a 118-run stand before Chittagong struck back through Under-19 pacer Mehedi Hasan, who scalped Junaid 77.
Belal ended the resistance of Farhad at 60 before Mohammad Saifuddin claimed three wickets to dent Rajshahi’s hopes of getting lead.
Mehedi and Iftekhar Sajjad took two wickets each for Chittagong.
Yasir Ali of Chittagong was declared the man-of the match for making 94 runs in the first innings.
Rangpur v Dhaka Division
Though a result was seemingly impossible, Rangpur and Dhaka played it for the first innings lead at Bogra that created some excitement in an otherwise dull contest.
Rangpur, who made 49 runs on the third day after rain washed out first two days, declared their innings for 232-2 thanks to half-centuries from Saymon Ahmed, Jahid Javed, Sohrawardi Shuvo and Nasir Hossain.
Two openers Symon and Jahid retired after scoring 63 and 53 runs respectively before Shuvo made
56 off 53 balls. As the declaration loomed, discarded national batsman Nasir Hossain made merry with the bat to hit 52 off just 37 balls with seven fours and two sixes.
Rangpur declared their innings after Nasir was out by first-class debutant Sabuz Barman.
Dhaka made a nervous start as opener Abdul Mazid was caught for three, but Rony Talukdar and Joyraj Sheikh forged a 91-run partnership before getting picked by Shuvo in quick succession.
Zahiduzzaman and Raqibul Hasan ensured the match ended without further hiccup with unbeaten 21 and eight respectively.
Brief Scores
Khulna v Barisal
Khulna 444 & 216-7 dec v Barisal 258 & 163 (Fazle 88, Rafsan 27; Razzak 5-32, Moinul 3-19)
Result: Khulna won
by 239 runs.
Man of the match: Mahadi Hasan (Khulna)
***
Chittagong v Rajshahi
Chittagong 432 & 1-0 v Rajshahi 415 (Johirul 79, Junaed 77, Farhad 60, Myshukur 35; Saifuddin 3-91, Mehedi Rana 2-70, Rony 2-80)
Result: Match drawn
Man of the match: Yasir Ali (Chittagong)
***
Rangpur v Dhaka
Rangpur 237-2 (Saymon 63 retired hurt, Suhrawardi 56 not out, Jahid 53
retired hurt)
Result: Match drawn.
-With New Age input
