Akbar rescues Rangpur, Mahfijul tons up as NCL sees three draws

Three matches in the opening round of the 28th National Cricket League (NCL) were drawn on the fourth day, with Rangpur captain Akbar Ali and Mymensingh's Mahfijul Islam the standout performers across the two most eventful contests.

At the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur, Rangpur had slipped to six for three overnight against Dhaka, having started their second innings 56 runs ahead. Openers Iqbal Hossain and Abu Hasim fell for 20 and 15 respectively as the collapse deepened to 42 for five.

Akbar Ali then held firm, adding 66 for the sixth wicket with Chowdhury Md Rizwan before the innings unravelled again. Rizwan made 27, but Akbar carried on alone, eventually dismissed for 64 off 132 balls with the score on 129.

Rangpur were bowled out for 149, with Arif Ahmed taking three wickets, leaving Dhaka a target of 206. The hosts managed only 4.1 overs late in the day, reaching nine without loss before both sides settled for the draw. Dhaka's Taibur, who scored 108 in the first innings, was named player of the match.

At the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Mahfijul Islam resumed on 86 and went on to complete a century, facing 197 balls and hitting 11 fours before falling to off spinner Naim Ahmed. Ariful Islam added 72 and Abdul Majid 87 as Mymensingh declared their innings closed on 372 for six.

Naim finished with five for 119 and was named player of the match after also contributing 30 runs and three wickets in the first innings. Sylhet, who had made 327 in reply to Mymensingh's 311, did not need to bat again as the match ended in a draw.

The third draw came in Chattogram, where Rajshahi resisted for most of the final day to reach 224 for eight. Sabbir Rahman top scored with 51, with Naim Ahmed making 47 and captain Pritam Kumar 37 in a middle order rebuild after Rajshahi slipped to 162 for six.

Lower order contributions from Shakhir Hossain, Sunzamul Islam and an unbeaten stand between Nihaduzzaman and Ali Mohammad Walid helped see out the day. Chattogram's Ashraful Hasan Rohan and Hasan Murad took three wickets apiece, while Chattogram's Mahmudul Hasan Joy was named player of the match after scoring 105 and taking two wickets in the first innings.