||Desk Report||

Rangpur Division failed to wrap up Khulna Division’s innings on the first day of their Tier 1 clash in the National Cricket League as Ziaur Rahman and Moinul Islam put up a late rescue act with the bat.

Winning the toss, Rangpur sent Khulna to bat first. Robiul Haque removed Khulna’s opening batsman Mahedi Hasan for a duck and Soumya Sarkar for 26 runs, before another opener Anamul Haque was trapped lbw by Sajedul Islam, scoring 1 run off 26 deliveries.

Tushar Imran (19) and Afif Hossain (22) also failed to register substantial innings with the latter becoming the third scalp of Robiul. Ziaur and Moinul shared a crucial 85-run stand after Nurul Hasan’s departure for 36 runs left Khulna six down at 117 runs. The wicketkeeper-batsman was dismissed by Sajedul.

Tanbir Hayder later struck twice to bring Barisal back in the game as he sent Ziaur (40) and Abdur Razzak (1) back to the hut. Moinul finished day-1 remaining unbeaten on 48 runs as Khulna posted 217 runs for eight wickets.

Khulna are currently the bottom-placed team in Tier 1 with one loss and three draws in five matches. Their fifth-round clash against Barisal Division was abandoned due to rain last week. Rangpur, on the other hand, are at the second position in Tier 1, with one win and four draws – the same as the table-toppers, Rajshahi Division.

 

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