Veteran right-handed batter Naeem Islam hit a century in the 2nd round of the Bangladesh Cricket League’s one-day edition and guided his team to a 26-run victory on Tuesday at BKSP.  In the other match of the same round of the league, Fazle Mahmud Rabbi fell short of 10 runs from a ton and guided his team to a 61-run win.  Naeem is playing for BCB South Zone, who batted first on Tuesday against BCB Central Zone and posted 282 for five wickets.  Read more: Warner can return to leadership role as Cricket Australia changes code of conduct South Zone lost two wickets in just 12 runs as Anamul Haque Bijoy and Zakir Hasan failed to do well. But in the third wicket stand, they added 99 runs on the board thanks to Naeem, and Mohammad Naim, with the latter scoring 63. Naeem ended up scoring 102 for 106. Allrounder Nasir Hossain has also scored 75 off 87 balls. For Central Zone, Robiul Haque bagged three wickets.  In reply, Mosaddek Hossain Saikat and Ali Jaker Anik scored fifty each, but that was not enough to avoid a defeat. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, the captain of South Zone, scalped three wickets, while Shoriful Islam took two.  In the other match, North Zone batted first against Islami Bank East Zone and scored 216 runs for eight wickets. Fazle Mahmud scored 90, and Mohammad Saifuddin scored 44.  For East Zone, Ashiqur Zaman, Mahadi Hasan, and Rahman Rejaur Raja took two wickets each. Read more: Saifuddin registers five wickets on Bangladesh Cricket League opening day In reply, they tumbled for 155 for all wickets. Shamim Hossain bagged three wickets for North Zone, while Ripon Mondal and Shafiqul Islam took two wickets each.  South Zone are currently leading the points table with two wins in two matches. East Zone are right behind them, with one win in two matches. North Zone also have one win in two matches, but East Zone bettered them with a better run rate.  In this league, every team will face each other twice in the league phase. The top two teams of the league phase will take on each other in the final. The final will be played in Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium under the lights. 

In the first-round matches of the Independence Cup, a 50-over event involving the teams of the Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL), Walton Central Zone and BCB North Zone won their respective matches in Sylhet on Sunday. Central Zone, who won the longer version edition of BCL this year, beat Islami Bank East Zone by 22 runs in a low-scoring affair at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. East Zone won the toss and sent Central Zone to bat first, who posted 177 all out in 43.2 overs with Mohammad Mithun scoring the highest 37. Along with him, Mizanur Rahman and Shakib Al Hasan also did well with the bat posting 36 and 35 respectively. For East Zone, right-arm pacers Rubel Hossain, and Rejaur Rahman Raja bagged three wickets each while Tanvir Islam took one wicket. Also read: Pumped-up Tigers aim for monumental series win against Blackcaps In reply, East Zone tumbled for 155 despite two 30-plus scores by Rony Talukdar and Irfan Sukkur. They managed to set in the middle but failed to carry on. Mohammad Ashraful suffered a duck while Imrul Kayes posted 25 for them. For Central Zone, Shakib, Hasan Murad and Soumya Sarkar bagged two wickets each while Abu Hider Rony and Mosaddek Hossain took one wicket each. Also read: Series win against New Zealand to inspire future Tigers: Domingo In the other match of the day at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium Academy Ground, South Zone batted first and scored 162 with a fifty by Towhid Hridoy, and 47 from Pinak Ghosh. For North Zone, Sunzamul Islam and Shafiqul Islam scalped three wickets each while Naeem Islam bagged two. In reply, opener Parvez Hossain Emon and Naeem hit a half-century each to guide South Zone to an eight-wicket win. While Parvez fell for 54 off 54 balls, Naeem remained unbeaten for 66.

Left-arm spinner Sunzamul Islam bagged eight wickets for BCB North Zone in the ongoing Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) on Tuesday as North Zone beat Islami Bank East Zone by six wickets in Rajshahi.  To take eight wickets, Sunzamul conceded 98 runs in 20 overs. Riding on Sunzamul’s outstanding bowling effort, North Zone wrapped up Islami Bank for 254 in their second innings. In the last innings of the match, North Zone needed 110 to seal the match, and they did it within the third day.  North Zone ended up on 111 for four in 28 overs and won the match. In the other match of BCL in Chattogram, played between Walton Central Zone and BCB South Zone, Towhid Hriody and Amite Hasan, hit a century each to guide South Zone to 381 for five at the end of day three.  In the first innings of the match, Walton Central Zone scored 481 with the centuries by Soumya Sarkar and Shuvagata Hom.

BCB North Zone faces an uphill task to defeat BCB South Zone at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram as they need to score 432 runs during the final day with 10 wickets in hand.