Bat dominates Day One

The bat dominated the ball on the opening day of the Bangladesh Cricket League's third round yesterday, where as many as three centuries were scored at the two different venues.

Islami Bank East Zone thrived on twin tons from Liton Kumar Das and Zakir Hasan to finish a satisfying day on 332-3 against Walton Central Zone at a batting-friendly Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna.

Mizanur Rahman scored a solid 106 at the Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi as leaders BCB North Zone posted 214-3 at stumps against Prime Bank South Zone. However, the game at the northern headquarters offered only 57 overs due to fog and bad light.

After a disappointing first two rounds, East Zone opener Liton returned among the runs with a fluent 112 off 186 balls that contained eight fours and a six. The right-hander shared a massive 193 runs for the third wicket with Zakir after his side were reduced to 50-2, which included the wicket of Mominul Haque. 

After hitting centuries in the last two rounds, Mominul was in pole position to complete a hattrick of tons. But the left-hander, who is tuning up for the first Test against Sri Lanka later this month, scored four before becoming one of the two victims of off-spinner Shuvagata Hom.

But young Zakir not only made up for the early losses but also took his side to a position of strength in company of Liton. The 21-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman finished the day on 156 off 235 balls, his highest first class score, surpassing the previous best of 137 not out.

A clean hitter of the cricket ball, as evident during the BPL, Zakir struck 18 savage hits across the rope. The gutsy left-hander has a chance to complete his maiden double when he resumes the innings with Tasamul Haq (35 not out) today.

It was a tough day for East Zone bowlers on a benign Abu Naser wicket, infamous for producing tons of runs. It was also a long and fruitless day for pace bowler Taskin Ahmed. Dropped from the national team recently, the right-arm quick bowled 19 overs without success. However, he could take heart from the fact that he bowled a disciplined line and conceded only 57 runs.

At Rajshahi, North Zone got off to a solid start with centurion Mizanur and Zunaed Siddiqui producing 169 runs for the opening stand. Mizanur departed for a 155-ball 106 that featured 17 fours. Left-handed Zunaed was unbeaten on 82 when the stumps were drawn early. The experienced batsman will come out to complete his century with Naeem Islam (25) when the game resumes today.

For Prime Bank South Zone, milestone man Abdur Razzak picked up all the three wickets that fell on the day. The left-arm spinner, who became the first bowler to hit the 500-wicket mark in the previous round, actually took two wickets off successive deliveries to finish with 3-62.