Chittagong lift Bangladesh title

Chittagong Division under the leadership of Minhajul Abedin secured the National Cricket League title as they inflicted a humiliating 189 run defeat on Barisal on Friday, in a ninth round match.

On the first day, the champions were on the backfoot as Barisal's Saleh Ahmed Sohel and Mafizur Rahman Munna took 5/48 and 3/14 respectively, to bundle them out for just 200 runs. Earlier skipper Minhajul Abedin contributed 49 runs to Chittagong's total, whereas down the order Nurul Abedin Nobel whose single handed effort took his team to 200, was left stranded on 53 not out. Barisal resuming on 23/0 on the second day, found it a uphill task to deal with Chittagong's Shahed Mehmood, the leading wicket taker of the tournament. Mehmood took six wickets for 51 runs as Barisal collapsed to 135 all out, only Habibul Bashar showed some resistance with his defiant 52 off just 74 deliveries.

Chittagong scored 117/3 in 44 overs till the end of the day, as Shahed Mehmood promoted to open the innings played an aggressive knock of 47 off 61 balls. On the third day, Chittagong added 81 runs to their oevernight score, when Minhajul Abedin declared the innings setting Barisal a target of 263 for an unlikely victory. Azam Iqbal and Abedin scored 53 and 39 not out respectively to take the score to 198/4 before the declaration.

Barisal going in to bat lost wickets frequently, losing their first seven for only 46 runs. Shafiuddin Babu (3/10) and Enamul Haq (3/14) were the main wicket takers. However Shahid Mehmood who took 2/24 in the second innings was adjudged man of the match for his six wickets in the first innings and his brilliant batting performance.

Sylhet, meanwhile secured the runners-up position as they beat Khulna by 3 wickets. Sylhet were on the driving seat from the first day, as they dismissed Khulna for only 142 in their first innings. Sajid Hassan was the only one who played a respectable knock of 53, as Sylhet's Pakistani off spinner Saifullah Magsi claimed seven wickets for just 35 runs. On the second day, Sylhet resuming on their overnight score of 83/1, collapsed to 199 all out, as Sohel Islam took 7/61. Opener Parvez (78) and Nahid (44) were the top scorers for Sylhet. Khulna managed 92/4 in their second innings in the remaining 38 overs in the day, left arm spinner, Mohmmad Rafique claiming all four of them. On the third day, Khulna were dismissed for 152. Rafique took took more wickets to end up with brilliant figures of 6/49, while Neeyamur Rashid claimed 2/22.

Hasanuzzaman scored 57 for Khulna. Sylhet did not find it easy to reach the victory target of 96, as they lost seven wickets in the process. All round effort by each Khulna bowler almost helped their team to upset the Sylhetis. After the Sylhet top order completely collapsed, tailender Iqbal Hossain's 29*, helped Sylhet win the match and the second position in the National League, taking an unbeatable lead over Dhaka.

Dhaka, who were also contending for the runners up position, are now out of the race, and will have to be satisfied with being no.3 as they gave away 2 points to Rajshahi because of their first innings deficit. Captain and national wicket keeper Khaled Masood (77) and Mushfique (65) were the main contributors in Rajshahi's first innings total of 246. Dhaka were all out for 206 runs, as they failed to gain the first innings lead. Khaled Mahmed top scored for Dhaka with 60, while Imran took 5/48. Rajshahi made 204/5 before declaring the innings, as Mushfique (50*) made another half century and Khaled Masood chipped in with a quickfire 47.

Dhaka faced a target of 244 to win in less than 25 overs. They only managed 126/5 in 22 overs before the end of the day's play. Shahriar Hossain and Al Shariar Rokon scored 39 and 37 respectively for Dhaka, while Imran Parvez (4/30) took four more wickets for Rajshahi. Imran was adjudged man of the match for taking nine wickets in the two Dhaka innings. As the match ended in a draw, Rajshahi gained two pointed for their first innings lead, while Dhaka lost all hopes of securing the runners-up position in the national league.

In the final round of matches starting on January 3, Chittagong will face Dhaka at Commilla, Sylhet will meet Rajshahi at home, while Khulna take on Barisal. The first three positions in the 3-day league have already been decided with three teams currently on number four, with 6 points each.

Points Table
P WO WI  L Pts
Chittagong 9  7  1  1  30
Sylhet     9  4  3  2  22
Dhaka      9  3  1  5  14
Khulna     9  0  3  5   6
Barisal    9  0  3  5   6
Rajshahi   9  0  3  6   6
WO = outright wins by runs/wickets (4pts)
WI = wins on first innings lead (2pts)