Bowlers rule the day

The second day of the fourth round of the 19th National Cricket League belonged to the bowlers as a total of 29 wickets fell from the four games being played across the country yesterday.

In the Tier-2 game at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna, spinners dominated the fixture between Dhaka Division and Barisal.

Resuming the day on 231 for 7, Dhaka Division were bowled out after adding 19 runs to their overnight total. Skipper Mohammad Sharif scored 58 runs following a team-high 68 by Rony Talukdar. Barisal's slow medium-pacer Salman and left-armer Monir Hossain bagged four and three wickets respectively while Tanvir Islam picked up two.

In reply, Barisal were in a spot of bother, finishing the day on 201 for 6 with Sohag Gazi top scoring with 73 off 77 featuring ten fours and a six, while Nuruzzaman remained unbeaten on 51. The pair added 110 runs for the fifth wicket to avoid early damage.

Dhaka Division's two spinners shared five wickets among them as Shuvagata Hom scalped three and Mosharraf Hossain got two. Barisal will look to take a first innings lead on the third day although they still trail by 49 runs.

Meanwhile at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium in Chittagong, Dhaka Metro declared their first innings on 369 for 9 where hosts Chittagong ended the second day on 41-1 with Sadikur Rahman (26 not out) and Iftekhar Sajjad (4 not out) set to resume the third day trailing by 328 runs.

Overnight batsman Mehrab Hossain Jr. missed out on his century by just six runs as he was dismissed after a patient 94 run knock off 271 balls including seven fours and a six. Mohammad Ashraful (66) and Asif Ahmed (64) struck sixties before skipper Marshall Ayub decided to declare the innings and attack.

Chittagong off-spinner Iftekhar Sajjad added three wickets to his two on the first day, to claim a fourth five-wicket haul in first class cricket.

Elsewhere, rain continued to hinder the tournament as there were only 36 overs played in the Tier-1 game between Khulna and Rangpur at the Shahid Kamruzzaman stadium in Rajshahi.

Khulna resumed on 77 for 3 with overnight batsman Anamul Haque who was on 47 and eventually became the top scorer with 61 runs off 98 balls including nine fours and a six. Nahidul Islam was the second highest scorer with 51.

However, Rangpur's seamer Ariful Haque and left-arm spinner Sohrawardi Shuvo took four wickets each while leg-spinner Tanvir Haider also picked up two wickets to bundle out the batting side on the small total of 218.