Sumon took 7 wickets including hat-trick, Rajshahi were bowled out on lowest total

Sumon Khan boosted his hopes of completing a hat-trick with wickets off successive deliveries. The daunting task of facing the hat-trick ball fell to Asadüzzaman. But the Rajshahi Division’s bowler looked defeated even before the battle began. He made no effort to land Sumon’s shot, which was aimed directly at the middle stump.

Dhaka Division’s intense call followed immediately and the referee wasted no time in raising his finger. A hat-trick and a seven-wicket haul were achieved; An ecstatic Sumon jumped up to celebrate, and his teammates had trouble catching him.

Sumon dismissed Sanjamul Islam and Mohar Sheikh with two superb deliveries left behind. The right-arm pacer then trapped Asaduzzaman LBW to complete his hat-trick. This was Sumon’s first hat-trick in first-class cricket and his first three consecutive wickets in any recognized form of cricket.

He became the 15th Bangladeshi bowler to score a hat-trick in first-class cricket. Of the previous 14 players, Elias Sunny and Sohag Gazi scored two hat-tricks each. Sumon also recorded his career-best performance in this format, taking seven wickets for the first time. The previous best was 6 for 50.

Under Sumon’s fierce bowling attack, Rajshahi posted a meager total. In the sixth round of the National Cricket League (NCL) at Bogura’s Shaheed Chandu Stadium, they were bowled out for just 42 runs. This is currently the lowest team total in Bangladesh’s first-class cricket history.

The previous dubious record was held by Barishal, who was dismissed 46 times against Khulna last season. Also, Dhaka Metro lost by 48 runs against Rangpur in this tournament in 2014.

Rajshahi, who opted to bat first after losing the toss, floundered from the start. None of their batsmen could withstand Sumon’s relentless bowling. They were all out after batting just 20.5 overs in the first session. Sumon claimed 7 wickets for just 18 runs in 7.5 overs. This was the sixth time the 24-year-old has taken five or more wickets in a first-class innings.

Six Rajshahi batsmen failed to score any runs. SM Mehrab Hasan top-scored with 18 runs, followed by Sabbir Hossain with 10 runs. None of the other hitters reached double figures. On a day dominated by Sumon, Ripon Mondol, MD Enamul Haque and Rubel Mia took one wicket each. At the time of writing, Dhaka Division had made 93 runs in their first innings, losing two wickets in 19 overs.