|| CF Correspondent  ||

Khulna Division is on course of a facile victory after their bowling line up lived up to their true potential as they need just 108 runs with nine wickets at hands to seal the deal against Rajshahi Division in Tier-1 game of the National Cricket League (NCL) at the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium in Khulna.

Pace bowler Al-Amin Hossain and left-arm spinner Abdur Razzak claimed four wickets apiece while fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman complemented their effort with two wickets as Khulna bowled Rajshahi Division out for just 170 in their second innings on Saturday.

That gave them an easy target of 123 runs to win and Khulna, by the end of day three, reached 15-1.  Anamul Haque Bijoy was out on 4. However, Imrul Kayes was batting on 11 with Soumya Sarkar who is yet to open his scoring sheet.

Kayes also scored 93 in Khulna’s first innings total of 309. However the bedrock of their innings was Nurul Hasan Sohan who missed out the ton due to his teammates’ failure. Resuming the day on 227-6, Sohan kept the side on course and single handedly propelled them past 300 runs mark. But no one could give him adequate support meant, he left stranded on 97. However his effort earned a 48 runs first innings lead against Rajshahi who was bowled out for 161 in first innings.

Coming to play the second innings with an aim to amend the mistakes of first innings, Rajshahi again fell in miserable situation, being reduced to 28-3. Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim hit back with 84-run partnership for the fourth wickets but the dismissal of Shanto for 57 again pegged back their innings. Mushfiqur was the last hope but Razzak took him out for 44 to keep Khulna in dominating position.

In another Tier-1 game, Liton Das and Naeem Hasan hit centuries to counter Saif Hassan’s double century as Rangpur made a strong reply to Dhaka’s 556-8 (dec), ending the day on 334-5. With just one day left to the game, it destined to be a draw.

Liton Das in his first match in the NCL, struck a magnificent 122 off 189 with 14 fours while Naeem Hasan was not out on 124. They shared 154-run for the third wickets stand after Dhaka reduced Rangpur to 44-2. After the dismissal of Liton Dhaka again hinted to claw back into the game but the hope was ruined after Naeem and Tanbir Haider added 106 runs for an undefeated sixth wicket stand.