Nurul Hasan helps Khulna stay on top

A counterattacking hundred by Nurul Hasan was the highlight of Khulna Division's drawn game against Dhaka Division in Fatullah. Khulna remained on top of the Tier-1 tournament standings with 39 points, followed by Dhaka Division on 34 points.

Khulna batted first and were bowled out for 117, with Dhaka's seamer Nuruzzaman Masum taking four wickets in his first NCL match in nearly two years. But any hopes of a sizable lead came crashing down as Mustafizur Rahman picked up four wickets of his own to restrict the lead to 37.

Mahedi Hasan and Anamul Haque then added 148 runs for the second wicket to drive Khula forward - Mahedi making a run-a-ball 104. Two quick wickets fell thereafter, but Anamul and Hasan's 153-run stand for the fifth wicket took the team out of troubled waters.

Anamul made 100 off 267 balls, while Hasan went on to make an unbeaten 182 off 223 balls. Hasan and Ziaur Rahman added 154 for the sixth wicket, with the latter hammering 89 off 113 balls in the team's 506 for 7. Dhaka needed to bat out time, and they did by surviving 40 overs on the final day. Saif Hassan top-scored with an unbeaten 67, and Abdul Mazid made 60 in the drawn contest.

Tanveer Haider came up with fine all-round display in Rangpur Division's draw against Dhaka Metro at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna.

Batting first, Dhaka Metro were bowled out for 242 with Tanveer taking four wickets with his legspin. Shamsur Rahman and Asif Hossain wasted strong starts, and were dismissed for 51 and 56 respectively. Rangpur took a 57-run lead in the first innings, with Tanveer making a patient 78 thanks to support from the tailenders. Sharifullah took four wickets.

Dhaka Metro were then helped by Mehrab Hossain jnr's 109 as they declared the second innings on 352 for 7. Tanveer got into the act again, picking three wickets, but Rangpur managed to walk away with a draw. They finished with 72 for 3 in chase of 296 when the game ended.

In Tier-2, Barisal Division crushed Sylhet Division by 150 runs at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra.

What started as a low-scoring game turned dramatically courtesy a 230-run fourth wicket partnership between Salman Hossain and Al-Amin in Barisal's second innings, after they conceded a 17-run lead.

Al-Amin made 157 off 197 balls with 16 fours and three sixes, while Salman's 146 came off 284 balls. Barisal declared on 464 for 7, leaving Sylhet a target of 448. Zakir Hasan apart, none of the other Sylhet batsmen offered resistance. Zakir brought up his maiden first-class hundred, remaining unbeaten on 137 with 20 boundaries. Offspinner Sohag Gazi took five wickets in the second innings to take his match haul to 8 for 156.

Chittagong Division took the honours in their drawn game against Rajshahi Division at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

Batting first, Rajshahi were bowled out for 208 runs after offspinner Iftekhar Sajjad took five wickets. Chittagong then took a lead of 142 courtesy Tasamul Haque's second consecutive first-class hundred. He batted for nearly eight hours on his way to an unbeaten 134. Sunzamul Islam took eight wickets for 106, his second best first-class innings bowling figure.

Rajshahi had to bat out for over five sessions to walk away with a draw. Nazmul Hossain Shanto rose to the occasion and made 101, his second first-class century, after batting for more than 80 overs. Shanto had earlier top-scored in the first innings too by making 63.