The Dhaka Premier League is set to resume after a three-day breakfor Pahela Baishakh festivities.
The second round of the competition will see Mahmudullah-led Abahani take on Partex Sporting Club, Mushfiqur Rahim-led Legends of Rupganj face Abdur Razzak's Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club, and Brothers Union square off against Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club.
At the BKSP, Abahani will hope they can continue their good run and beat Partex Sporting, who were quite dreadful in their last game. Abahani won their last game against Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samiti, but it was a close affair.
They had gone into a shell early on after losing three wickets. It was only after Mahmudullah and Mosaddek Hossain shared a century stand for the fourth wicket that Abahani managed to recover. Mosaddek scored a century and, like he does so often, led them home unperturbed.
Partex Sporting are playing the premier league for the first time and their players are yet to get the experience of playing at the top level. They will be counting on their foreign recruit, Yashpal Singh, who scored a half-century in the last game and has more than 100 first-class matches under his belt.
The other game at the BKSP is bound to be much more interesting. Rupganj, with the likes of Mashrafe Bin Mortaza and Mushfiqur, will take on Sheikh Jamal who have a well-balanced team. Both teams won their previous games and are looking in good touch.
Mushfiqur had to play a brilliant knock towards the end to ensure that Rupganj did not suffer a surprise defeat at the hands of Brothers Union in the first game. However, they will want their batsmen to step up today. Sheikh Jamal's key player will be Imrul Kayes. Although the batsman missed out in the last game, everyone knows how destructive the top order batsman can be once he gets set.
They will also depend heavily on Nurul Hasan and Abdur Razzak. Nurul, who is fighting hard to find himself a spot in the national team, scored a brilliant 80 in the last game and was the lone reason why Sheikh Jamal managed to chase down their total. The veteran Razzak still seems to have it in him, as he scalped four wickets in the last game. It will be an intense match between two teams who look in good touch.
Far away from the BKSP, at the other end of town in Fatullah, Brothers Union will face Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium. Brothers' batting failed in the last game and they will hope that the likes of Alok Kapali can do better today. Their star in the last game was Myshukur Rahman. It was because of his half-century that Brothers managed to post a total above 200 and were in the game for a brief period.
Doleshwar on the other hand, won their first game thanks to Arafat Sunny's five-wicket haul. They will hope that the former national spinner can put in a star turn once again today.
