Metro, Sylhet win big on day three

Day three of the fourth round of the National Cricket League saw two results, both in tier two and by innings margins, as Dhaka Metropolis outclassed Chittagong and Sylhet dominated Barisal Monday.

Riding on a fine 178 by national Test opener Shadman Islam, Dhaka Metro beat the port city outfit by an innings and 64 runs while Ebadat Hossain’s eight wickets guided Sylhet to an innings and 32-run win over Barisal.

In the other two games in tier one, Dhaka are in the driving seat heading into the fourth and final day’s play against Rajshahi, while Khulna need another 73 for victory against Rangpur, with five wickets remaining.

Dhaka Metro v Chittagong

Resuming the third and penultimate day’s proceedings on 96/3 in their second innings, Chittagong were up against an uphill task at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in the port city.

The port city outfit not only had to surpass Dhaka Metro’s first-innings tally of 403, but set a challenging target for the opposition.

It was not to be as Chittagong were dismissed for 249 in 80.2 overs, adding 153 to their overnight score for the loss of their remaining seven wickets.

Right-arm seamer Shahidul Islam bagged four wickets while off-spinner Sharifullah and out-of-favor national right-arm pacer Taskin Ahmed took two apiece.

Chittagong captain Yasir Ali and middle-order batsman Pinak Ghosh scored half-centuries but lacked support from others as Dhaka Metro rose to second place in the tier two standing with 17.8 points.

Chittagong are third with 17.42 points.

Dhaka’s middle-order batsmen Taibur Rahman and Shuvagata Hom were both on the verge of centuries, as the capital city outfit edged ahead of Rajshahi on day two of their fourth round match in the National Cricket League in Cox’s Bazar Sundayhttps://t.co/jbQ5QFLc48#NCL #BCBTIGERS

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) November 3, 2019

Barisal v Sylhet

Like Chittagong in the other tier two game, Barisal began the third day on the backfoot against Sylhet, resuming on their overnight second innings score of 12 for the loss of one wicket, a deficit of 148.

The Barisal batsmen had to dig deep but it proved to be a tall order as Sylhet ran through the opposition, led by right-arm seamer Ebadat, who took three wickets following his five-for in the first innings.

Ebadat was supported brilliantly by left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed, who picked up a miserly four wickets for just five runs.

National discard Sohag Gazi and veteran campaigner Shahriar Nafees made 37 and 32 respectively in a sorry batting display by Barisal.

Courtesy the win at Sheikh Kamal International Stadium in Cox’s Bazar, Sylhet top the standing with 22.54 points while Barisal are languishing at the bottom with 15.62 points.

Ebadat Hossain took five wickets to help Sylhet restrict Barisal for a below-par score in the coastal city of Cox’s Bazar.https://t.co/dV3FwpeUzE#BCBTIGERS #BCB #TIGERS #BANGLADESHCRICKET #BANGLADESH #CRICKET #EBADATHOSSAIN #HOSSAIN #EBADAT #NATIONALCRICKETLEAGUE #NCL #NATIONAL

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) November 2, 2019

Rangpur v Khulna

Perhaps the most enticing tie is happening at Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka as Khulna require another 73 against Rangpur.

Chasing a tricky 203 for victory, Khulna ended day three on 130/5, middle-order batsman Mahedi Hasan and all-rounder Ziaur Rahman remaining unbeaten on 30 each.

Left-arm spinner Sohrawardi Shuvo has taken four of the five Khulna wickets and will be looking to create further trouble on the fourth day pitch.

Earlier, Rangpur weren’t able to give Khulna a difficult target to chase as they were all out for 211 after resuming the day on 67/4.

All-rounders Nasir Hossain and Ariful Haque though ensured Khulna would chase more than 200 after posting 76 and 58 respectively.

Experienced campaigner Abdur Razzak, who in this match became the first ever Bangladeshi to bag 600 first-class wickets, took yet another five-wicket haul, his 39th, to derail Rangpur’s ambitions.

Razzak, who took seven wickets in the first innings, bagged a total of 12 in the game, the 11th occasion he notched a 10-for.

Opening batsman Shadman Islam remained unbeaten on 162 as Dhaka Metropolis put on 357 for the loss of four wickets against home side Chittagong at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.https://t.co/K7YJMKHYEw#NCL #NATIONALCRICKETLEAGUE #NATIONAL #CRICKET #LEAGUE #BANGLADESHCRICKET #BCB

— Dhaka Tribune Sports (@Sport_DT) November 2, 2019

Rajshahi v Dhaka

Rajshahi trail the capital city outfit by 168 runs after ending day three on 77/3 in their second innings in the coastal city.

Left-handed batsman Junaid Siddique remain crucial to Rajshahi’s plans of salvaging something from this encounter as he was not out on a painstaking 41.

Earlier, Dhaka posted a mammoth 475/7 before declaring their first innings, which was built on three centuries from all-rounder Shuvagata Hom (104), Taibur Rahman (120) and skipper Nadif Chowdhury (101).

Left-arm spinner Sanjamul Islam took four wickets for Rajshahi.

21ST NCL, RD 4, DAY 3

Tier 1

Rajshahi 230 & 77/3 in 42 overs (Junaid 41, Nazmul 2/17) trail Dhaka 475/7d in 136.1 overs (Shuvagata 104, Sunzamul 4/162) by 168 runs

Khulna 233 & 130/5 in 38 overs (Anamul 34, Shuvo 4/27) trail Rangpur 224 & 211 in 76.5 overs (Nasir 76, Razzak 5/71) by 73 runs 

Tier 2

Sylhet 322 beat Barisal 162 & 128 in 45.1 overs (Nasum 4/5, Ebadat 3/28) by an innings and 32 runs

Dhaka Metro 403 beat Chittagong 91 & 248 in 80.2 overs (Yasir 66, Shahidul 4/29) by an innings and 64 runs