In the second round of the NCL, which took place at the BKSP-3 field in Savar, the Sylhet Division defeated the Dhaka Division by a score of four wickets, which allowed them to take the lead position.
In the other match of Tier 1, Rangpur Division opened their account with a victory against Chattogram Division by seven wickets. This match took place in Dhaka.
The Rajshahi Division defeated the Dhaka Metropolis Division by a score of ten wickets, while the Barishal Division prevailed over the Khulna Division by a score of seventy-one runs.
Both of these results contributed to Rajshahi Division claiming the top place in the points table for the second tier.
As a result of the delay in obtaining their visas, the players who were picked for the BCB XI side to go on the intended tour of Tamil Nadu were forced to stay at home, which allowed the first-choice players to return to the NCL.
Best Batters
During the second round, there were two centuries scored, and both of them came from matches in Tier 2. On the road to scoring his second century in first-class competition, Nahidul Islam smashed 10 fours and seven sixes.
During the match against Barishal, he was responsible for 129 of Khulna’s total of 213. In other news, Mushfiqur Rahim scored 110 while batting for Rajshahi against Dhaka Metro, and he hit six fours throughout his innings.
Amite Hasan and Jaker Ali, both of Sylhet, scored match-winning fifties for their team, while Jaker Ali hit a quickfire 51 off of 46 balls, including two fours and four sixes, which assisted Sylhet in their fourth-day hunt for the victory.
Best Bowlers
There were five five-wicket hauls in this round of games. The experienced left-arm spinner Nabil Samad took his second consecutive five-for for Sylhet. Tanzim Hasan Sakib’s five for 53 in the second innings was also helpful to Sylhet.
In the meanwhile, Chattogram’s Hasan Murad, and Khulna’s Tipu Sultan both grabbed a five-wicket haul in a losing cause, while Rajshahi’s Taijul Islam took 6 wickets for 109 runs in their resounding victory against Dhaka Metro.
Best Match
Since Sylhet is currently in first place in their division, the potential impact of their victory against Dhaka Division by four wickets in subsequent stages of the campaign cannot be overstated.
That was a big victory for Sylhet, who had never won the event, given that they were competing against the winners from the previous year. Dhaka was bowled out for a score of 128 in their first innings after being rocked by Nabil’s 5 for 36.
Amite’s 63 runs were the only noteworthy contribution to Sylhet’s total of 167, which resulted in the team only taking a 39-run advantage. Dhaka responded with 256, with Shuvagata Hom scoring the most runs (89) to take the lead.
However, a late burst of five wickets from Sakib allowed them to finish their second innings with an advantage of just 217 runs. Although Sylhet lost three wickets early on in their pursuit of 218, the seasoned opener Imtiaz Hossain stood steady with a patient 51.
However, the decisive victory for Sylhet in Tier 1 was achieved by big-hitting players Jaker and Sakib.
Points To Ponder
Sylhet is now in first place on the points table, while Rangpur has just opened its account in Tier 1 competition. Rajshahi is now in first place in the Tier 2 standings, whereas Khulna has now lost two matches in a row.
Players To Watch
Amite, who finished the previous season as the second-highest scorer, kept up his strong play by hitting another fifty for Sylhet. This comes after he scored 79 runs in the first round.
Sakib, a young fast bowler, also left an impression with his performance, while Nabil, a seasoned bowler, picked up his second consecutive five-for in the match.