|| Desk Report ||

After surviving a near-defeat against East Zone last week, Central Zone are continuing their mission to retain the top spot in the Bangladesh Cricket League, playing against South Zone in the fourth round. The two teams previously met in the first round, with Central Zone registering the only win in the competition so far.

Winning the toss, South Zone sent the opponents to bat first. Mahedi Hasan and Al-Amin Hossain were quick to cause an early shake in Central Zone’s batting lineup, as Pinak Ghosh and Abdul Mazid fell cheaply.

Shadman Islam then helped his side exceed the 100-run mark along with Marshall Ayub (44), with the latter getting dismissed at exactly 101.

Following Ayub’s exit, Central Zone lost three more wickets – including that of Shadman (60) – in a short period, until Taibur Rahman and Mosharraf Hossain provided some resistance with a 51-run stand.

Mosharraf’s dismissal for 21 runs, was followed by a duck from Robiul Haque, leaving Taibur with the responsibility of taking the total to a decent position.

Taibur finished unbeaten on 43 and will resume the second day’s play with Yeasin Arafat (5*).

Mahedi and Abdur Razzak bagged two wickets each for South Zone and Al-Amin took three scalps on the first day.