Barishal division came up with a mediocre batting show against Dhaka Metro on day three of their first-round match of the ongoing National Cricket League at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium on Monday.
After Metro declared their first innings on 408-5 with centuries from Marshal Ayub (127) and Aich Mollah (122), Barishal were all out for just 219 and enforced follow-on.
Coming into bat in their second innings Barishal were on 32-0 at stumps, still trailing by 157 runs.
Earlier, resuming on 22-0, Barishal made a promising start, adding 75 runs for the first wicket, but they eventually lost momentum as wickets tumbled at regular intervals.
For Barishal, Iftakhar Hossain Ifti fought alone and unfortunately got run out for 98.
Moin Khan (36) and Tanvir Islam (26) also got the desired start but could not keep up against the Metro bowlers, spearheaded by Ashraful Islam Siam, who claimed a fifer.
Apart from Siam, double strikes from Arif Ahmed and Manik Khan gave Metro an upper hand in the match.
In another match in Sylhet, Khulna division mounted a strong challenge against Rajshahi, as they were 120-0 at stumps in the second innings, chasing 516 runs to win.
After dismissing Khulna for 194, leaving them with a deficit of 232 runs in the first innings, Rajshahi declared their innings at 283-6 in a bid to force a result.
Sabbir Hosan struck a rapid 150 off 139, featuring 13 boundaries and six maximums after Tanzid Tamim鈥檚 141 in the first innings.
However, Soumya Sarkar and Amit Majumder showed resilience with the bat and remained unbeaten on 80 and 37 runs, still 396 runs behind from an unlikely win.
The other two matches of the first round are heading towards draws unless something dramatic happens on the fourth and final day.
In Khulna, Mahidul Islam Ankon smashed 118 as defending champions Dhaka scored 224 in response to Sylhet鈥檚 146 in the first innings.
Sylhet still trailing by 26 runs, as they posted 52-0 without losing any wickets at stumps.
Fifties from Khalid Hasan (60) and Mim Mosaddeak (55) saw Rangpur 273-9-d in the first innings. In reply, Chattogram were all out for 103 at the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra.