Barishal Division made a good start in the four-day National Cricket League (NCL) beating Sylhet Division by an innings and 13 runs on the 4th and final day at the Shaheed Qamaruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi on Sunday, reports UNB.
The other three matches of the first round ended in a draw at different venues across the country.
Imrul Kayes grabbed the limelight on the final day of the first round hitting a double-ton for Khulna Division against Rangpur Division.
Rajshahi Division vs Dhaka Division
The first round match of the four-day National Cricket League (NCL) between Rajshahi Division and Dhaka Division ended in a draw on the 4th and final day at Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah on Sunday.
Dhaka resumed the second innings with overnight 206 for 6 and were all out for 254 in 99.2 overs with overnight batsman Taibur Rahman (67) scoring the team highest 88 runs.
For Rajshahi, Taijul Islam bagged five wickets to bring his wicket-tally to nine in the match while Farhad Reza took three.
Rajshahi opened the second innings with the target of 298 in the final day. However, they scored 106 for five in 64 overs when the bails were drawn for the final day (Sunday) with Jahrul Islam batting onj 40 and Mushfiqur Rahim 21.
Sumon Khan and Shuvagata Hom took two wickets each.
Rangpur Division vs Khulna Division
The match between Rangpur and Khulna also ended in a draw at Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna on Sunday.
Khulna resumed 1st innings with the overnight score 192 for 3 and declared the innings on 454 for nine with left handed overnight batsman Imrul Kayes (29) hammering a polished innings of 202 runs off 319 featuring 19 fours and six sixes.
For Rangpur, Suhrawardy Shuvo scalped three wickets while Robiul Haque took two.
In reply, Rangpur ended the final day scoring 33 for 1 in nine overs to settle for a draw with Nasir Hossain making unbeaten 23.
For Khulna, Al Amin Hossain took one wicket.
Sylhet Division vs Barishal Division
In the first round of NCL Tier-2 match, Barisal earned a massive innings and 13 runs victory over Sylhet at Shaheed Qamaruzzamand Stadium in Rajshahi on Sunday.
The first day of the match was washed out due to rain on Thursday. Despite this, Barisal managed a comfortable win riding on the tremendous performance by their bowlers.
Sylhet resumed their 2nd innings with the overnight score 27 for 2 and were bundled out cheaply for 132 in 63.5 overs.
Jakir Ali was the highest scorer for Sylhet posting 45 but his effort went in vain due to poor batting of his team mates.
For Barisal, Tanvir Islam bagged four wickets while Monir Hossain grabbed three to lose the game by an innings and 13 runs.
Chattogram Division vs Dhaka Metro
The day's other Tier-2 first round match between Chattogram and Dhaka Metro also ended in a draw at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Sunday.
Dhaka Metro resumed their first innings with the overnight score of 349 for 7 and added only five runs in the final day losing last three wickets. They ended on 354 all-out in 126.4 overs.
For Chattogram, Minhajul Abedin Afridi took three wickets while Noman Chowdhury and Mehdi Hasan bagged two wickets each.
In reply, Chattogram posted 227 for five in 76 overs at the end of the final day. Masum Khan was batting on 61 while Pinak Ghosh and Tasamul Haque hit 57 and 53 runs respectively.
For Dhaka Metro, Mahmudullah bagged three wickets conceding 25 runs. The right-arm offspinner bagged three in the first innings as well.
