Pabna clinch maiden title

Rain has been a deterrent throughout the 37th National Cricket Championship and it reared its head once again in yesterday's final as Pabna defeated Narayanganj by five wickets in the curtailed 20-overs-a-side affair at Pabna Aminuddin Stadium yesterday.

There was a nervy moment when set batsman Imran Hossain walked back to the pavilion in the 19th over with Pabna 10 runs away from their 122-run target, and more importantly a maiden title.

A single off the first ball of the 20th over enhanced the pressure, but any anxiety was allayed when Mohaiminul Khan Chowdhury blasted the second ball of the over for a huge six, bringing the equation down to three runs off four balls.

Mohaiminul scored those three runs off the next two balls to secure Pabna's first national cricket championship crown.

"Through the national cricket tournament, local players travel to different areas across the country and get the opportunity to play against the best the country has to offer. It makes players more confident and they want to prove themselves by putting up their best performance," Pabna captain Tawhid Tariq Khan said.

Speaking to The Daily Star, Jahangir Alam, coach of the Narayanganj district team said this is a fine tournament and the players performed their best despite the rain.

"Due to the heavy showers on Monday night, the field became slower, so our batsmen could not score our targeted runs," Jahangir said.