Hridoy and Naeem shine in the rain-shortened game
Rain disrupted the drew BCL match between Central Zone and North Zone at the Sylhet Academy Ground, where hundreds were scored by veteran top-order batsman Naeem Islam and teenage player Towhid Hridoy.
In the first innings, Naeem scored his 32nd century, and Central Zone concluded with 281. In his five-hour knock, he hit nine fours and three sixes with very little help from the other end. Musfik Hasan, a fast spinner, claimed four wickets before North Zone hit back with 277. These days, Hridoy, a regular for Bangladesh in white-ball cricket, averages 165 off 166 balls with 13 fours and eight sixes.
However, the match stalled out to a standstill when the rain wiped out most of the third and most of the fourth days. Mohammad Naim and Rony Talukdar, the Central Zone’s first two players, were still undefeated at 20 and 32, respectively.
Nasum, Emon, and Amite excel for the East Zone.
The match between South Zone and East Zone in Chattogram likewise resulted in a dull draw.
Using the opening pitch, East Zone reached 402 runs thanks to four half-centuries from batters. Before Shamsur Rahman and No. 9 Tanzim Hasan also scored fifty, openers Shykat Ali and Parvez Hossain Emon made seventy-seven and ninety-nine, respectively. Tanvir Islam, a left-arm spinner for South Zone, scored 5 for 114.
With 282 runs in response, South Zone’s leading scorer was Fazle Mahmud with 81. Nasum Ahmed, a mainstay for Bangladesh, took 5 for 81.
In 3.5 overs of the second innings, East Zone lost their first three wickets to Al-Amin Hossain and Mahedi Hasan without scoring any runs. Then, Amite Hasan salvaged their innings with his seventh century in the first class. In his 102, he hit ten fours and one six. On the last day, South Zone set a goal of 370 after Shamsur scored 67 and East Zone declared on 249 for 6. As South Zone reached 80 for three in the final 16 overs, Anamul Haque’s 55 from 50 balls came just in time.
