NCL round-up: Rakibul, Mridha guide Dhaka Metropolis to victory over Rajshahi

Dhaka Metropolis thumped Rajshahi Division by ten wickets to start the NCL with successive wins. Left-arm spinner Rakibul Hasan took career-best figures of 8 for 56 in the second innings, and combined with young left-arm quick Maruf Mridha, who had bagged 6 for 22 in the first, to sink Rajshahi.

Asked to bat first, Rajshahi were bowled out for 77, with No. 10 Mohor Sheikh top-scoring with 19, as Mridha, Abu Haider and Anisul Islam Emon shared the ten wickets.

Dhaka Metropolis replied with 233, as Shamsur Rahman, playing his 150th first-class match, top-scored with 64. Rajshahi were then shot out for 166, as Rakibul ran through their line-up. Dhaka Metropolis then got the required 14 runs in 2.1 overs.

Pinak Ghosh's unbeaten 62 led Sylhet Division to a six-wicket win against Chattogram Division in a low-scoring game. The left-hander took only 81 balls to get his runs in the 220-run chase, guiding Sylhet to their first win this season. The hosts reached the target in 40.1 overs, with Tawfique Khan also hitting a fifty.

Earlier, Sylhet had fallen behind by 46 runs after they were bowled out for 152 in reply to Chattogram's 198 in the first innings. Yasir Ali contributed the most runs for Chattogram as he scored 73, and that was followed by Ifran Hossain's five-wicket haul. which kept Sylhet under pressure. Chattogram, however, couldn't build on the first-innings lead, as they were bowled out for 173 in their second dig. Nayeem Ahmed and Rejaur Rahman took three wickets each for Sylhet.

Ashiqur Rahman's maiden first-class century helped Dhaka Division play out a draw against Rangpur Division at the BKSP ground. After rain wiped out the first day's play, Rangpur were bowled out for 253 in the first innings. Left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam took four wickets for Dhaka Division.

Ashiqur then struck ten fours and five sixes in his score of 129 off 186 balls. He added 204 for the second wicket with Joyraz Sheik, who made 87. Dhaka Division, however, slipped from 303 for 3 at one stage to be eventually bowled out for 327. Rangpur batted out the remaining 101 overs of the game, reaching 165 for 7 before it was called a draw. The veteran Naeem Islam stuck around for nearly five hours for his 75.

Rain forced a draw between Khulna Division and Barishal Division in Khulna. Batting first, Khulna saw Anamul Haque, Soumya Sarkar, Amit Majumder and Mahedi Hasan score fifties, as they declared at 408 for 9. Soumya's rough reaction after being run-out due to a mix-up with Anamul became a talking point during the game. He threw the bat as he shouted at Anamul for the calling.

In reply, Abdul Mazid struck his 13th first-class century as Barishal finished on 287 for 3. Mazid struck 15 boundaries in his nearly six-hour stay at the wicket.