As many as 25 wickets fell in the two Bangladesh Cricket League (BCL) matches on Monday, in which fast bowlers scalped the lion's share of wickets, as the second round of the country's first-class tournament got underway.

Utilising playing conditions to their advantage in Sylhet and Dhaka, the likes of Khaled Ahmed, Rejaur Rahman Raja, Shohidul Islam and other quicks tormented the batters to scalp 16 wickets.

At Sylhet International Cricket stadium, East Zone bundled out North Zone for a paltry 108 and went on to end the day on 122 for two, earning a first-innings lead of 14 runs, courtesy of opener Parvez Hossain Emon's 66 off 140 balls.

Asked to bat, North batters faced the music as the Sylheti pace duo of Khaled and Rejaur bagged four wickets apiece while another seamer Jayed removed opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy to kickstart North's misery.

Meanwhile, following the close of day's play at Mirpur's Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Central Zone trail by 161 runs in their first innings after restricting South Zone to 214.

Having lost opener Pinak Ghosh for naught after being sent in to bat, South kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were reeling on 127 for seven.

However, a rearguard action from Moin Khan, who scored a team-high 75 off 110 balls, helped steer the defending champions past 200.

Shohidul took three wickets while fellow pacer Abu Hider and off-spinner Shuvagata Hom scalped two each.

In reply, Central slumped to 53 for three at stumps as fast bowler Sumon Khan removed both the openers -- Naim Sheikh (8) and Abdul Mazid, while off-spinner Nayeem Hasan dismissed skipper Saif Hassan (14).

To lead the consolidation act today, Central will be relying on in-form Naeem Islam, unbeaten on 22.