Tamim sizzles in a high-scoring draw

Dhaka Metropolis played out a high-scoring draw against Chittagong Division in their opening National Cricket League match in Bogra. Bowlers from both teams had a tough time in the middle as six centuries - including a double - were put up in four days by batsmen from both teams and as many as 20 bowlers were used during the match.

Chittagong captain Tamim Iqbal made an impact after choosing to bat but missed his double-century by eight runs. He shared a 276-run stand with the other centurion - Mominul Haque, who scored his second first-class hundred - that set the base for a big first-innings total. However, Chittagong lost their last eight wickets for 54 runs to be bowled out for 411.

Chittagong raised their hopes of taking a first-innings lead after reducing Dhaka to 98 for 3, but a 311-run fourth-wicket stand brought Dhaka almost level with Chittagong's score. Marshall Ayub scored 209, his highest first-class score, and was supported by two more centuries from the middle order - Mehrab Hossain Junior's 122 and Tasamul Haque's 135 - that took Dhaka past 600. They declared their innings soon after with a lead of 221 and with around two sessions left in the match to force a result.

Chittagong played out 38 overs and lost only one wicket, with Tamim scoring his second century of the match, as the game petered out into a draw.

Abdur Razzak picked up six wickets in the second innings to bowl Khulna Division to a 52-run win over Barisal Division in Khulna. Chasing a target of 257, Barisal crumbled from 160 for 3 to be bowled out for 204.

Khulna made 314 in their first innings after Barisal chose to field. Soumya Sarkar top-scored with a brisk 96 while Tushar Imran contributed 69. Barisal were in trouble at 87 for 5 but were revived by an aggressive century from Sohag Gazi at No. 7. Gazi was supported by his captain Shahriar Nafees (60). Taposh Ghosh picked up 5 for 59.

Gazi, the player of the match, then ripped through Khulna in the second innings as he claimed 7 for 79 with his offspin, including a hat-trick to end the innings. Ghosh made 76 to guide his side to 220. Fazle Mahmud then made 65 at the top of the order and took Barisal to a strong position in the company of Iftekhar Nayem (45). The duo's dismissals triggered a collapse as Razzak scalped the last five batsmen to end with 6 for 72.

Sylhet Division claimed three points from their first outing in the NCL 2012-13, by taking the first-innings lead in their drawn game with Rangpur Division at Cricket Garden. Rangpur, for drawing, took a point away from the match.

Rangpur chose to bat and their first innings was built chiefly around an unbeaten century from Naeem Islam. His unbeaten 137 was studded by 19 boundaries and he put on a hundred stand with Mahmudul Hasan as Rangpur got to 295. That they were limited to below 300 was mainly down to left-arm spinner Enamul Haque jnr, who claimed a five-for to run through the lower-middle order after the century stand.

While none of the Sylhet batsmen could go past Rumman Ahmed's 75, most of their line-up - only three players did not get to double-digits - contributed cameos to get them the lead. Captain Alok Kapali also made a half-century, while No. 9 Abul Hasan scored a handy 40 to get them past 300.

In their second innings, Rangpur got to 258 for 6 before play ended, with Nasir Hossain missing out on a century - on 87, he was run out by Enamul Haque jnr.

Dhaka Division got off to a winning start in the National Cricket League by beating Rajshahi Division by 127 runs at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur. It was their first victory in the first-class competition after the divisional side was split and the Dhaka Metropolis team was formed last season.

Dhaka were aided by their opponents' poor luck, after Rajshahi had their captain Mushfiqur Rahim and leading bowler Saqlain Sajib collide on the first day. Sajib was disoriented due to the impact and didn't take part in the rest of the game, while Mushfiqur was only available for Rajshahi's second innings. The defending champions were in shambles as they chased 261 to win, and were bowled out for 133. Mahmudullah picked up four wickets, while Shahadat Hossain took two.

Dhaka's fightback began in the second innings, in which they trailed by 62 runs after they were bowled out for 116 in the first innings. Dhaka were rescued by a 100-run fifth wicket partnership between Nadif Chowdhury and Mosharraf Hossain and by a 97-run seventh-wicket stand between Abdul Majid and Nurul Hasan. Mosharraf, Majid and Nurul scored fifties to push the total past the 300-mark, which was enough against a team that had only nine batsmen.