As the second round of the nation’s first-class tournament got underway, as many as 25 wickets dropped in the two Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) matches on Monday, with fast bowlers taking the majority of wickets.
In Sylhet and Dhaka, players such as Khaled Ahmed, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Shohidul Islam, and other quicks took advantage of favorable playing conditions to torment the batsmen and take 16 wickets.
At the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, East Zone defeated North Zone for a pitiful 108 runs before finishing the day at 122 for two. Thanks to opener Parvez Hossain Emon’s 66 off 140 balls, East Zone had taken a 14-run lead in the first innings.
When North was asked to bat, their batters were met with dismay as Khaled and Rejaur, two Sylheti pacers, took four wickets apiece, while Jayed, another seamer, removed opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy to begin North’s ordeal.
After holding South Zone to 214 runs in their opening innings, Central Zone trailed by 161 runs at the end of the day’s play at Mirpur’s Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
After being brought in to bat and losing opener Pinak Ghosh for nothing, South continued to lose wickets often and found themselves trailing 127 for seven.
Nevertheless, Moin Khan’s comeback, which saw him score a team-high 75 off 110 balls, enabled the reigning champions to surpass 200.
Shohidul claimed three wickets, while Shuvagata Hom, an off-spinner, and Abu Hider, another pacer, both claimed two.
After quick bowler Sumon Khan removed openers Naim Sheikh (8) and Abdul Mazid, and off-spinner Nayeem Hasan dismissed captain Saif Hassan (14), Central collapsed to 53 for three at stumps.
Today’s consolidation act will be led by Central’s undefeated 22-year-old Naeem Islam.