Bangladesh national women's cricket stars Nigar Sultana and Farzana Haque etched their names into history as they became the first women batters to score centuries in the Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL).
The milestones were achieved during the North Zone vs. Central Zone match at the Shaheed Kamruzzaman Stadium in Rajshahi.
Nigar Sultana, captain of Central Zone, became Bangladesh’s first-ever centurion in women’s first-class cricket. Resuming her innings on 85 overnight, she reached her landmark century with a single off Jannatul Ferdous. Nigar went on to remain unbeaten on 153 runs off 253 balls, featuring 20 boundaries and two sixes.
Her stellar innings helped Central Zone declare their first innings at 387 for 8, establishing a 147-run lead.
Not long after, Farzana Haque of North Zone joined the history books. After narrowly missing a century in the first innings with 86 runs, Farzana bounced back in the second innings with a flawless unbeaten knock of 102 off 226 balls, including a solid 196-run opening partnership with Isma Tanzim.
Isma, unfortunately, fell 10 runs short of her century, and North Zone declared at 204 for 1, resulting in a drawn match.
In the other match of the BCL, Southern Zone clinched the first victory of the season, defeating Eastern Zone by 10 wickets at the Bangla Track Cricket Academy Ground in Rajshahi.
Eastern Zone began the final day at 26 for 3 in their second innings but were bowled out for 162, thanks to a commanding performance by Southern Zone captain Rabeya Khan, who claimed 5 wickets for 18 runs.
Southern Zone required just 9 runs to secure victory, which they achieved without losing a wicket.
Rabeya’s all-round brilliance, which included 7 wickets across two innings and a 70-run knock in her sole batting innings, earned her the 'Player of the Match' award.
