Prime Bank South Zone took the honour of becoming the first side to post an outright win in the Bangladesh Cricket League when they fought back to beat Islami Bank East Zone by 37 runs in Dhaka on Saturday.
\nOff-spinner Sohag Gazi sealed the dramatic win with his maiden 10-wicket haul in first\u00a0class competition that helped South Zone dismiss East Zone for 227 runs despite their promising start to the innings in pursuit of a 265-run target.
\nSohag added 5-73 to his 6-66 in the first innings as East Zone, resuming the day at 138-2, were bowled out in less than a session on the fourth and final day.
\nEast Zone were in pole position, needing just 127 on the final day with eight wickets intact, but some controlled bowling by Sohag and his spin partner Abdur Razzak kept them at bay.
\nIt was heartbreaking for East Zone who dominated the game in patches and only threw away a potential first innings lead when they had lost their last seven wickets for 14 runs.
\nThey showed the promise again in the second innings and were well in control until Sohag had in-form Mominul Haque caught by Abdur Razzak at mid-off for 14 in his third over in the morning.
\nTwo wickets fell in the next two overs as Robiul Islam trapped Alok Kapali in front before Razzak bowled overnight unbeaten batsman Rajin Saleh (38) to bring South Zone back in the contest.
\nSohag changed the end after bowling just three overs in the morning and came out sharper as the first over of his second spell fetched him two wickets and earned him his first ever 10-wicket haul.
\n\u2018It\u2019s a nice feeling that we could earn a win and I am happy that I had some sort of contribution in achieving it,\u2019 a modest Sohag told reporters after his man-of-the-match performance.
\n\u2018Actually there was no big help from the wicket and it only provided some little turn. They were put under pressure as we did not give any cheap runs.\u2019
\nSohag, who made his name during the recent Test series against West Indies, gave credit to Bangladesh\u2019s spin bowling coach Saqlain Mustaq for helping him improve his bowling.
\n\u2018I feel that my flight has improved and I really worked hard to do that,\u2019 he said.
\n\u2018Drift is very important for every spinners and I am beginning to feel that this area has improved a lot. I worked with Saqlain bhai and he was happy that I could learn about it in a short span of time,\u2019 he said.
\nThe dismissal of Faisal Hossain and Tapash Baishya in the over by Sohag reduced East Zone to 165-7, leaving the contest all but over. Nabil Samad revived some hopes for East Zone with three fours, but his run-out on 17 made it almost impossible for them.
\nDhiman Ghosh, who had scored a brilliant century in the previous match, could only delay the inevitable with his 28.
\nIn Bogra, Walton Central Zone and BCB North Zone settled for a draw as expected, but not before Nasir Hossain delighted the crowd with an entertaining century.
\nWith the prospect of a positive result going out of the equation, Nasir decided to have some batting practice for him and his 131 from 112 balls earned him exactly what he wanted.
\nNasir, who struck nine fours and four sixes in his splendid innings, shared 135 runs with Farhad Reza for the fifth wicket.
\nFarhad himself provided some entertainment making 77 from 84 balls with 11 fours as BCB North Zone ended on 397-6 before the two captains agreed for a draw.
\nMyshukur Rahman also made 73 for North Zone at the top order while Mohammad Ashraful added three wickets to his century in the first innings for Central Zone.
\nCentral Zone batted only seven balls in the morning and added two runs before they declared their first innings on 436 for nine.
\nBRIEF SCORES
\nNorth Zone V Central Zone
\nNorth Zone 361 & 397-6 in 84 overs (Nasir Hossain 131, Farhad Reza 77 not out, Myshukur Rahman 73, Mohammad Ashraful 3-65) v Central Zone 436-9 Dec in 157.1 overs (Mohammad Ashraful 133, Mehrab Hossain Jr 131, Marshal Ayub 40; Sajidul Islam 3-103, Saqlain Sajib 3-98).
\nResult: Match Drawn
\nMan of the match: Mohammad Ashraful
\nSouth Zone v East Zone
\nSouth Zone 248 & 248 in 91 overs (Anamul Haque 73, Soumya Sarkar 48, Tushar Imran 38; Nabil Samad 6-81, Tapash Baisya 3-25) v East Zone 232 & 227 in 72.1 overs (Nafees Iqbal 63, Rajeen Saleh 38, Shohag Gazi 5-73).
\nResult: South Zone won by 37 runs
\nMan of the match: Shohag Gazi<\/p>\n

-With New Age<\/span> input<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Prime Bank South Zone took the honour of becoming the first side to post an outright win in the Bangladesh Cricket League when they fought back to beat Islami Bank East Zone by 37 runs in Dhaka on Saturday. Off-spinner Sohag Gazi sealed the dramatic win with his maiden 10-wicket haul in first\u00a0class competition that … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[9555,489],"yoast_head":"\n