Dhaka – Touring Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) XI made a good start in the semifinal of the Dr (Capt) K Thimmappaiah Memorial Cricket Tournament against Chhattisgarh State Cricket Sangh (SCS) on the first-day of the four-day match at the Alur-1 (Platinum Oval) ground in Bengaluru on Sunday. Favoured by coin, BCB XI decided to bat first and scored 254 for 3 in 85.1 overs in the first innings on the first day, featuring three half centuries by Jahurul Islam (60), Saif Hasan (92 retired hurt) and Yasir Ali Chowdhury (not out 50). Two openers Jahurul and Saif made a solid start scoring 154 runs off 302 balls in the first wicket stand. Jahurul Islam added 60 off 134 balls hitting 7 fours before he was bowled by Binny Samuel while Saif Hasan scored 92 off 172 balls smashing 6 fours and 5 sixes before he was retired hurt. After that, captain Mominul Haque along with Yasir Ali Chowdhury took the charge and added 86 runs off 184 balls in the 3rd wicket stand. Captain Mominul Haque scored 49 off 93 balls hitting 6 fours before his departure by Veerpratap Singh. BCB XI got another blow while Punit Datey sent back Sanjamul Islam to the pavilion for a duck. But, Yasir Ali Chowdhury remained unbeaten scoring 50 off 103 balls, hitting 6 fours with Najmul Hossain Shanto, who was also in the crease without scoring any run. Binny Samuel, Veerpratap Singh and Punit Datey bagged one wicket each for Chhattisgarh SCS conceding 43, 45 and 24 runs respectively. Earlier, BCB XI reached semifinal as the unbeaten champions of four-team Group B securing 11 points from three matches with two consecutive draws and one win in their first appearance in the tournament. The BCB X1 defeated Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) Secretary XI by 10 wickets within three days in their 3nd match after settled for draws against Vidarbha Cricket Association and Dr DY Patil Cricket Academy in their first and second four-day matches respectively. On the other hand, Chhattisgarh SCS also emerged as the unbeaten champions of four-team Group C securing 14 points from three matches with two wins and one draw. Chhattisgarh defeated Team Rajasthan by an innings and 47 runs and Mumbai Cricket Association by 9 wickets in their third and second matches respectively while they played to a draw against KSCA Colts in their first match.UNB
