Khaled Ahmed claimed three wickets as the second and final four-day match between Bangladesh ‘A’ and New Zealand ‘A’ appeared to be heading toward a draw after a rain-hit third day at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Mirpur on Friday.
Only 62 overs of play were possible, as rain interrupted multiple times before poor light brought an early end to the day. New Zealand ‘A’ were 277 for 4 at the stumps, trailing by 80 runs in the first innings.Â
Nick Kelly, who made a hundred in the previous match, was heading for another hundred as he was unbeaten on 83 while Matt Boyle was batting on 44.Â
Khaled Ahmed—who is the lone recognised pacer in the eleven—took three wickets so far.Â
Kelly, the left-hander, struck four sixes and three fours in a composed innings, anchoring an unbroken 101-run fifth-wicket stand with Boyle.
Earlier, Joe Carter added 62 off 99 balls before falling to part-time spinner Saif Hassan, ending a 105-run second-wicket stand with Curtis Heaphy (71 off 203). But Bangladesh spinners couldn’t make any inroads.Â
Khaled, however, stood out with his disciplined line and length.
 ‘In Test cricket, if you’re not passionate, you won’t get wickets, you’ll just leak runs,’ the pacer told the reporters after the day’s play. ‘That’s why I try to stay consistent with line and length, even on flat wickets like this one.’
‘We went for attacking fields today hoping for early wickets, but sometimes that also brings runs if you’re not spot on,’ he added.Â
Khaled, who has played 16 Tests and two ODIs for Bangladesh so far, also remained hopeful of a white ball return.Â
‘I’ve played for the ‘A’ team, in the DPL and in the BPL, and I feel I can still deliver. I just need to keep doing what I do, bowling in good areas. I never feel unlucky. If I did, I wouldn’t still be playing this long,’ he said.Â
New Zealand ‘A’ won the first four-day match by 70 runs in Sylhet.Â