Mehrab Hossain Opi scored a dazzling 94 to help Dhaka District

11 Sports Associa-, tion (DDSA) piled

up a challenging first innings total against Bangladesh Biman in the first semifinal of the 23rd national cricket championship at the Dhanmondi Cricket Stadium yesterday.

The young right-hander, who came into bat at number five, played a gem of a knock to guide his side from a precarious 51/3 to a respectability before Dhaka were all out for 213 in 73.3 overs.

On the first day of the three-day match. Biman, in reply, were 34/1 in 13 overs at stumps. The national airline outfit, who lost their opener Ziaur Rashid Rupom for a duck, will resume their innings today with Athar

All (16) and Habibul Bashar Sumon (18) on the crease.

In the day's match, skipper Selim Shahed won the toss and elected to use the wicket first. But his ploy seemed to have backfired when Dhaka lost their opener Asif for only five runs on the board.

Left-handed opener Imran Hamid Partha, however, played an act of recovery displaying an enterprising 28 off 33 balls which laced with half a dozen fours. But once he was dismissed by spinner Shariful Haq Plabon, who also captured the wicket of one-down Adil (12). Dhaka slid from a strong position of 44/1 to 51/3.

Skipper Selim Shahed. who scored a patient 22 off 40 balls, paid the penalty while going for an ambitious shot.

But it was Mehrab's watchful vigil which steered Dhaka

cross the 200-mark. The middle-order bat with a matured head on a young shoulder clubbed a dozen fours in his 176-ball stay at the crease. He shared an invaluable 85 runs for the fifth wicket with Khaled Mahmud Sujon before the latter departed for a gritty 31 off 60 deliveries inclusive of a quartet of fours.

While Mehrab, who was only six runs short of the magical three figure mark, spooned an easy catch in the deep off a Plabon spinner, leaving his side 205 for eight in 66 overs.

Plabon. a member of the Bangladesh team in the infamous ICC tour to Kenya, finished with three for 51 in his 17 overs. While national left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique, who mopped up the Dhaka tail, also finished with three wick-