North Zone, Central Zone face off for BCL glory

North Zone and Central Zone will vie for the coveted Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) one-day tournament trophy when they meet in a grand final of the competition today (Tuesday) at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.

The match will be a day-night affair, starting at 2.15 PM. Both of the sides won two matches out for three on the way to confirm the final. Central Zone's only defeat in the group phase came at the hands of South Zone in the first match of the tournament. However they came back strongly from that seven-wicket defeat to win the next two matches, including one against North Zone, which looked unstoppable.

However, Central Zone shocked North by two wickets in a high-scoring thriller. North Zone put up a massive 322-7 and looked on course for a third straight victory but Jishan Alam played an incredible 93 ball-127 runs knock to help the side gun down the target with four balls to spare.

The victory certainly will be a psychological boost for Central ahead of the mega clash.

The BCL, traditionally a four-day competition and the country's premier first class tournament, was played in a one-day format to help players prepare for the upcoming ODI series against Pakistan, which will visit Bangladesh this month for a three-match series.    �"BSS