East Zone win cliffhanger to snap losing streak in BCL

No. 10 batter Hasan Mahmud held the nerve impeccably to help East Zone clinch a thrilling one-wicket victory against South Zone in their third game of the Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) one-day competition today at Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogura on Saturday.

This was East Zone's first victory in the tournament, having conceded defeats in the first two matches.
Put into bat first, South Zone were bowled out for just 180 in 43.2 overs but made them clear favourites to win the game by taking wickets at regular intervals.

After losing two openers cheaply, East Zone bounced back into the contest, thanks to Shahadat Hossain Dipu and Mominul Haque who added 52 runs for the third wicket.

But the dismissal of Dipu for team-best 42 and Mominul for 29 in quick succession, sparked a collapse which saw them lost six wickets for 29 runs.

Hasan Mahmud and Nayeem Hasan added a 19-run for the ninth wicket which was crucial in keeping them alive.
Nayeem was dismissed for 20 to give South Zone a hope to wrap up the game as East Zone were still 40 runs away from the victory.

But Hasan Mahmud defied the nerve-wrecking moment to steer the side to victory in 47.3 overs, remaining unbeaten on 35 off 45. His match-winning knock included five fours. No.1 batter Mushfik Hasan accompanied him astutely with an unbeaten 4 for which he played 35 balls.

Soumya Sarkar claimed 4-35 for South Zone which eventually went in vain. Earlier opener Anisul Islam made 50 runs to guide South Zone innings.

However, a failure from middle order batters denied them posting a healthy total.

Hasan Mahmud and Nayeem Hasan claimed three wickets apiece with the bowling before their batting heroics.     �"BSS