Unmukt Chand makes Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi a firm favourite for DPL title
He hails from Delhi and has an uncannily dashing batting style that has set the Dhaka Premier League on fire. At one stage in his career, Unmukt Chand was touted to be the next best thing to come out of Indian cricket.
He is only 25 and could still go on to become one of the best players in the world—and going by the way he has played in the two Dhaka Premier League games this season, hitting centuries in both of him, he might just be on his way to achieve what was always expected of him.
After flying from India to play in the Dhaka Premier League this season, he scored 127 in his first game and continued his good form in his second game as well, smacking an elegant 101. He showed the kind of form that made him a nightmare for the bowlers in the 2012 U19 World Cup.
Indeed, he slayed the ball with his bat like Samurai beheading bodies and sent it all around the park. His shots had both the majestic approach of a wizard and the vehemence of the fire that appears at the end of time—and he consumed the bowlers in that very fire.
While the Dhaka Premier League might not be one of the most competitive ones in the world, Chand took on Abahani bowlers, who have—and still are—played for the national team of Bangladesh. In short, he took on international level bowlers like Mashrafe Mortaza, Taskin Ahmed and Mehidy Hasan Miraz and sent them to the cleaners.
This proves that when he has a clear and strong mindset, he can do just about anything—and also make his team, Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi, a firm favourite to win the competition.
His 101 runs helped Dhanmondi make 256 with the loss of 8 wickets. Mashrafe might have grabbed him and taken three wickets in total, but it was not before Chand set the stage on fire to subsequently take the match away from the strongest team in the Dhaka Premier League.
Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed took two wickets each to share the load with Mashrafe. It didn’t work out in the end, however, as Abahani fell for 230 in 47.2 overs due to some fantastic bowling from the Dhanmondi bowlers.
Abu Jayed and Robiul Haque took three wickets each while Nazmul Islam, Elias Sunny, Ziaur Rahman and Sohag Gazi took a wicket each to help seal the win for their team.
In the match between Gazi Group Cricketers and Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity, a Sikandar Raza-inspired Gazi Group won comfortably against Khelaghar. The Zimbabwean scored a valiant 90 to help his team make 304 while also taking a wicket to restrict the opponents to 270, taking Gazi Group a step towards the next phase.
Meanwhile, Legends of Rupganj completed a fantastic chase against Prime Doleshwar to render Liton Das’ brilliant 107 obsolete. Mohammad Naim’s fantastic 88 was supported by a great batting effort from Rupganj, who scaled a target of 258 within 484 overs.
