The penultimate round of game in the Dhaka Premier League produced some fascinating low-scoring encounters that have spiced up the table. Table-toppers Abahani took on Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity and in the end, won relatively easily.

From Samaj Kallyan Samity’s point of view, they were like the candle that glowed with vehemence before extinguishing. In this case, however, the extinguishing part happened quite elaborately and painfully.

Batting first, Abahani openers gave them a great start to take the score to 64 before Anamul Haque Bijoy lost his wicket for 27. Nazmul Hasan Shanto then held the fort to score 54 from 56 balls, after which the middle order just collapsed.

From 100 for 2 to 156 for 8, Abahani were staring at nihil when Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Taskin Ahmed saved them from the blushes by making 50 and 26 respectively and taking the score to 241 in 46.3 overs.

Abdul Halim starred the Khelaghar bowling with four wickets while Anjum Ahmed and Sadikur Rahman took two scalps each with Irfan Ahmed taking one wicket himself.

In response, Khelaghar could not put up a fight and got bundled out for 114 runs, with only four players making scores in double digits. Mashrafe was the best bowler for Abahani as he took three wickets with Sandip Roy, Nasir Hossain and Taskin Ahmed assisting him brilliantly by taking two wickets each. Miraz also took one wicket to round them up.

In the other game between Legends of Rupganj and Gazi Group crickets, the former beat the later with much ease to give themselves a shot at DPL glory. Gazi Group could make only 152 runs before getting all out after some wonderful team effort with the ball from Rupganj.

Mohammad Shahid was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets while Parvez Rasool and Asif Hasan also joined the hunt by taking two scalps each. Mohammad Sharif and Asif Hasan also got one wicket apiece to help their team strangle the opponents for a rather puny total.

While chasing down the target, Legends of Rupganj lost their opener Abdul Mazid quite early as clouds of doubts fogged its performance’s trajectory. However, a 63-run partnership followed by another unbeaten 78-run stand steered the team to the victory.

After another opener, Mohammad Naim, returned to the pavilion after clubbing 45 runs, Avishek Mitra picked up a half-century and remained not out on 57 while, at the other end, Mushfiqur Rahim amassed 30 runs.

In the other game on Monday, Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club managed a narrow win over Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club to remain alive in the title hunt.

Batting first, Sheikh Jamal registered a total of 183 runs losing all their wickets. After a couple of short innings from the batsmen, the team lost its last 6 wickets while adding just 23 runs to the scorecard. The failure of the lower-middle order batters and the tailenders failed to stay at the crease for long enough as their side ended up with a below-par score.

Apart from Tanbir Hayder’s unbeaten knock of 43 runs and a late rescuer innings of 39 runs from Ziaur Rahman, no other batsmen were able to make their marks.

Prime Doleshwar’s batting innings turned out to be a more abject one in the game as, in this case, two tailenders tried to salvage some pride for the team after Fazle Ahmed and Marshall Ayub left the crease for their scores of 35 and 29, respectively.

Following these two exits, Doleshwar’s batting lineup started to fall apart until the last two batters—Arafat Sunny and Salauddin Shakil subsequently contributed 35 and 31 runs. Robiul Haque put an end to the 67-run partnership and Sakil’s innings to clinch a victory for his team.

Tanbir Hayder bagged a four-fer for Sheikh Jamal while Elias Sunny and Abu Jayed also got a wicket to each of their names. Nazmul Islam picked up 2 wickets as Sheikh Jamal’s bowling attack dominated the game.

With the Abahani leading the points table, Legends of Rupganj and Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi are holding the next two spots. And as both of the teams are just 2 points shy of the league leaders, the last match-day, when Abahani will take on Legends of Rupganj and Prime Doleshwar will face Gazi Group, will be a decisive part of the tournament, not to mention what the net run-rates can do to change the fate of a team in the competition.

 

Scores:

 

Abahani Limited – 241/10 (46.3 overs)

Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity - 114 (27.3 overs)