NCL Round 3: Centuries galore but Enamul Haque Jr steals limelight with 500th first-class wicket

All four teams in tier 1 of National Cricket League 2021-22 now have one win each. Khulna Division was the latest to win, when they trounced Dhaka Division by an innings and 27 runs at the Sylhet Academy ground.

Earlier in the day, Rangpur Division beat Sylhet Division by six wickets in the adjacent Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, where Enamul Haque Jr became the second Bangladeshi bowler to take 500 first-class wickets.

Best batters
Nahidul Islam's maiden first-class century set up Khulna's big win. Having played 31 matches in seven years, Nahidul is more known for his T20 exploits in the BPL. Here, he hammered 12 fours and six sixes in his 175, helping Khulna to 419 in the first innings.

Amite Hasan got his second first-class century when he made 170 not out against Rangpur. The 20-year-old struck 17 fours in his 385-ball knock during which he spend more than eight hours at the crease, but it couldn't help Sylhet prevent the loss.

Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Mominul Haque struck centuries for Chattgoram Division against Dhaka Metropolis, with the pair adding 208 runs for the third wicket. Joy made 112 with nine fours while Mominul struck 11 fours in his 103. Dhaka Metro's Shadman Islam also made 132 off 228 balls, hitting 17 fours and a six.

Sohag Gazi, playing for Barishal Division, slammed five fours and ten sixes in his 95-ball 113, before veteran Farhad Hossain made an unbeaten 108 for Rajshahi Division in their drawn tier-2 encounter.

Best bowlers
Rangpur's opening pair of Robiul Haque and Mukidul Islam took seven wickets each in the game to help their side to the win. But it was Enamul who stole the limelight when he took his career tally to 500 wickets when he had Jahid Javed caught behind on the fourth day. Only Abdur Razzak, who retired earlier this year, has more first-class wickets (634) for Bangladesh.

Taijul Islam, meanwhile, picked up his sixth ten-wicket haul, when he took 10 for 220 against Barisal. Monir Hossain also took a five-wicket haul in the same game.

Mehidy Hasan Miraz had a good outing against Dhaka Division, taking 6 for 41 in the second innings to go with his 67. Raihanuddin also registered a match-haul of 9 for 154 in the same game.

Best match
Khulna, who won the last completed NCL in 2019, picked up their first win this season against Dhaka Division. Batting first, Khulna posted 419 all out with Nahidul's career-best 175. Dhaka were 162 for two in reply but were shot out for 231. Asked to follow on, Dhaka dragged the game into the fourth day but Miraz's six-wicket haul dashed their hopes, as they were bowled out for 161.

Points to ponder
Rangpur are on top of tier-1's points table with 15.89, followed by Khulna (13.75) and Dhaka (13.63). Barisal lead tier-2 with 16.9 points.

Players to watch
Among those who will be involved in the Pakistan Tests later this month, Mominul, Shadman, Taijul and Miraz all performed very well in this round. Allrounders Nahidul and Gazi struck centuries too.