The much-anticipated Port City Cricket League (PCL) Twenty20 tournament gets under way as Chittagong Mohammedan and Top Sports Club of Noakhali meet in the opening match this afternoon at MA Aziz Stadium in Chittagong.

Chittagong Divisional Krira Sangstha (CDKS) is organiser of the tournament that took inspiration from popular Indian tournaments such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Indian Cricket League (ICL).

The galleries, special enclosures and pavilion of the newly renovated stadium were decorated colourfully to welcome this new event. Posters and banners were also fixed in different nook and cranny of the port city.

The participating teams that have drawn dozens of national and few well-known foreign players have been also participating in this tournament.

An auction of 48 selected cricketers, which was something new in Bangladesh, was held on April 25 at the Chittagong Club auditorium. The city's cricket fanatics would find the auction hard to forget because of the bidding war that took place for local boy and Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal. The dashing left-hander was won away by Chittagong Abahani for an astonishing price of Tk 7.7 lakh.

Eight teams split into two groups are contesting the nine-day tournament with Chittagong Mohammedan, Chittagong Abahani, Chittagong Brothers Union and Top Sports in Group A. Ispahani, Dada Warriors, Dhaka Sports Tiger of Laxmipur and Pirates of Chittagong are the teams of Group B.

The Sunday matches will see Dada Warriors take on Dhaka Tigers in the morning while Abahani face Brothers Union in the afternoon.

The two semifinals will be held on May 9 between while the final will take place on May 10.

“The PCL will definitely usher in a new era of enthusiasm in the sports arena of Chittagong as well as Bangladesh,” said CDKS general secretary Sirajuddin Md Alamgir, also a director of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB).

Source: The Daily Star