Patience the name of the game

The highlight of the first day of the 19th National Cricket League's fourth round was how players remained patient while spending longer periods of time at the crease. Dhaka Metro finished the day on 236 for 3 in 90 overs against hosts Chittagong Division while Dhaka Division are in a difficult position after losing seven wickets to score 231 runs against Barisal Division yesterday.

In the Tier-1 game at the Shahid Kamruzzaman stadium in Rajshahi, where rain was once again the spoil sport, Khulna scored 77 for 3 in 22.2 against Rangpur. Opening batsman Anamul Haque remained unbeaten on 47 off 76 balls with seven fours and a six before Khulna lost the wickets of Robiul Islam (18), Mahedi Hasan (2) and Tushar Imran (2) in the span of 18 runs before rain forced the day's play to a close.

Left-arm spinner Sohrawardi Shuvo bagged two wickets while Ariful haque took one for Rangpur.

Meanwhile, the Tier-2 game in Bogra between Rajshahi and Sylhet was abandoned without a single ball being bowled due to a wet outfield.

In the Tier-2 match at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury stadium in Chittagong, Dhaka Metro made a solid start, posting 92 runs for the opening wicket. However, both their openers Shamsur Rahman (46) and Saykat Ali (48) were dismissed on forties while skipper Marshall Ayub (1) also departed cheaply as the batting side struggled on 116 for 3.

Nevertheless left-hander Mehrab Hossain Jr. and Mohammad Ashraful, who returned to the side after recovering from dengue fever, took charge after that. Both batsmen opted to continue a defensive approach, showing vast patience which eventually paid off as the pair added an unbeaten 120 runs for the fourth wicket, allowing their side to resume the second day on a much better position.

Mehrab faced 213 balls for 75 runs, including five fours and a six, during his four hour stay at the crease while Ashraful scored 54 off 143 deliveries with five fours.

Iftekhar Sajjad Rony scalped two wickets for Chittagong while Kazi Kamrul took the other.

At the Sheikh Abu Naser stadium in Khulna, after electing to bat Dhaka Division lost wickets at regular intervals as opening batsman Rony Talukdar tried to single handily steady the ship.

The right-hander was eventually dismissed after scoring a composed 68 off 224 balls with five fours while left-hander Taibur Parvez added 46 runs. Skipper Mohammad Sharif remained unbeaten on 41 alongside Zahiduzzaman (17) and will resume on the second day.

Salman, Monir Hossain and Tanvir Islam picked up two wickets each while Nuruzzaman got one for Barisal.

SCORES IN BRIEF 
BARISAL VS DHAKA DIV
DHAKA: 231 for 7 in 90 overs (Rony 68, Taibur 48, Sharif 41 not out; Tanvir 2-26, Salman 2-30, Monir 2-50)
CHITTAGONG VS DHAKA METRO
DHAKA METRO: 236 for 3 in 90 overs (Mehrab 75 not out, Ashraful 54 not out; Iftekhar 2-58)
KHULNA VS RANGPUR
KHULNA: 77 for 3 in 22.2 overs ( Anamul 47 not out; Sohrawardi 2-21) 
RAJSHAHI VS SYLHET
Day-1 called off due to wet-outfield.